Vienna 1798 Maker's Mark IIW

[Granmaa]

Does anyone know the identity of this maker's mark?

Miles

[Bahner]

Hello,

is there a dot or a line between the two "I" ?

Regards, Bahner

[WarrenKundis]

Good day Bahner,

Does appear to be a hyphen, a line between two "I"

[Bahner]

Hello,

if this is a line - then the mark in exactly this form is not documented by the MAK Vienna. The greatest similiarity is with the mark of Ignatz Franz Joseph Würth, b. 1743, date of death not given, most likely between 1789 and 1792. The MAK documents three different marks for him: "I I W" (I I on top of the W) in an oval; same lettering in a shield; same lettering, again in a shield of somewhat different form; same lettering but with a dot between the two I's, in a shield.

This poses two problems: what about the line between the two I's here and what about the date 1798 ?

Würth filed bankruptcy in 1789 (sickness ? death ?). Theresia was officially allowed to run the shop in her name between 1792-1803 (no mark for the Würth workshop between 1789-1803 documented by the MAK). Her son A.A. Mathias Würth took over in 1804 and continued until 1831. He had his own mark "A W" in a shield.

A somewhat educated guess: right after Würth's death his widow Theresia was allowed to run the workshop for a while. This was not uncommon in some German-speaking countries (not sure how other countries handled this), especially if a child of the silversmith, yet too young, would and could later take over the father's workshop. What if the mark here documents this transitional period between the bankruptcy (or death) of Ignatz Franz Joseph and the official takeover by Son A.A. Mathias in 1804? As I said, a guess.

Regards, Bahner

[Granmaa]

Thanks for the sleuthing, Bahner!

Miles