Postby blakstone » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:49 am
The mark on the left is the head of Partenope, and was used in Naples, one the Kingdoms of the Two Sicilies, from 1824 to 1878. The “N” stood not for Napoli but “nostrali” (“ours”) to distinguish it from the mark for imports, which was an “E” (“estero” = “foreign”). The bar across the “N” was the mark of assayer Gennaro Mannara, working 1835-1863. “8” stood for the 8th standard of .833. (“7” was for the 7th standard of .916; standards 1-6 were for gold.) Finally, the maker “FP” has not been positively identified, but it attributed to one of two Neapolitan silversmiths: Francesco Palma or Filippo Pedicini.
Hope this helps!
Ref: Elio & Corrado Catello, Marchi dell’Argenteria Napoletani dal XVI al XIX secolo (Sorrento: Franco Di Mauro, 1996)