Judaica Silver Hallmark ID Help

[Beth Witte]

I have searched the website and can't find enough info to identify the hallmarks of this piece. It measures 6 1/2" tall and is 1 1/4" square at the base with the following hallmarks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[dognose]

Hi Beth,

Welcome to the Forum.

You have, what I believe is known as a Bessamim spice tower, they are used at Havdalah, the end of the sabbath ceremony. They are filled with sweet smelling spices, to remind the participants of the sabbath.

Jewish silversmiths are often very hard to identify, as they often worked outside of the official hallmarking controls, supplying only to customers within their own circle, using a system based on trust.

The '14' mark would be an indication of the standard of silver, 14 Loth (875/1000). The Loth system was used in several countries in continental Europe in the 18/19th centuries.

A clue to the country of origin may be that these items often reflected the architecture of the city where they were made.

There's good knowledge on this forum, so let's hope someone has some information on this silversmith.

Regards Trev.

[Beth Witte]

I appreciate the information, especially "what is it!!"

[jackk]

This is a very nice spice tower. Most likely late XVIII century-early XIX. Mark "14" is very uncommon, but would indicate germany, eastern europe region. Most likely done in a small silversmith shop.