Can anyone help determine the country, manufacturer and years of work?

[Nata37]

Hello, can anyone help determine the country, manufacturer and years of work?

[blakstone]

Italian, with the marks used during the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, which covered the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Although the Kingdom existed from 1805 to 1815, the marks weren’t introduced until 1808 and continued use until 1823 (long after the French occupation); these latter dates – 1808-1823 – give the range for your piece.

The mark on the upper right is the full-face head of Partenope (on its side) warranty mark, and the impressed numeral “5” below it is for the fifth standard of .834. (The first three standards were for gold, and the 4th standard was .917 silver.)

The maker’s mark in the upper left – “GG” (again, on its side) – is recorded during the period but the maker has not been identified.

The other mark, I think, is a centering mark used by the silversmith in raising the bowl.

Hope this helps!

Ref: Elio Catello & Corrado, Marchi dell’Argenteria Napoletani dal XVI al XIX secolo (Sorrento, Napoli: Franco Di Mauro Editore, 1996)

[Aguest]

::::::: Should there be an "Assay Master" hallmark somewhere on this piece? Perhaps there is an Assay Master hallmark hiding somewhere else on this piece, perhaps going unnoticed? ::::::

:::::: I've only have a few pieces of silver from Italian cities during this period, but they do bear hallmarks of Assay Masters. :::::

::::: Maybe there are some exceptions though, it might have varied from city-state to city-state, I'm not sure, but I'm just wondering if technically there should be an "Assay Master" hallmark on this piece. :::::::

[amena]

:::::: I've only have a few pieces of silver from Italian cities during this period, but they do bear hallmarks of Assay Masters. :::::

To better understand each other, can you post some examples?
Thanks
Amena

[Aguest]

::::: I've posted them in the past, for instance " the assay master of Torino was GIUSEPPE VERNONI who was working in Torino, Kingdom of Sardinia, during the dates 1814-1824" the GV hallmarks stamped on a cruet set, but I've never had anything from Naples, so.....

::::: The best information I can find is that there was a law number 242 passed on December 17th, 1808 which set forth the new standards for gold and silver, two thresholds of purity were established, both 917/1000 and 834/1000. Furthermore, the law mandated each piece to be clearly marked with

1) Warranty Hallmark 2) Assayer Hallmark. 3) Maker's Mark

:::::: So that is the best information I have for Naples during the period of Napoleonic French influence over Italy, specifically Naples. :::::

::::::: Unless I'm in error, I don't see an Assayer Hallmark in this group of hallmarks in the picture posted above. ::::::

[Aguest]

:::::: The period is 1808-1823 when France had influence over Italy. :::::: I don't know what to call this period of time in Italy, I have seen "The French Occupation" and also "The French Domination" but I really don't know what the name is for this period of time 1808 until 1823. ::::::: Neoclassical Italian Silver Early 19th Century. :::::::

[amena]

Unfortunately I could not find the original text of Joachim Murat's law.
Indeed, in the version given by Ugo Donati on page 186 of his book, the stamp of a "controloro" (assayer) would seem to have been foreseen

Sull’oggetto, la bontà del titolo veniva certificata dal marchio del controloro, dal merco dell’argentiere e, a fianco del marchio di garanzia con la testa di Partenope, dalla punzonatura di un numero in cifra araba corrispondente alle nuove bontà legali: n. 4 per la bontà di millesimi 917;
n. 5 per la bontà di millesimi 834.

On the object, the fineness was certified by the mark of the controller, by the silvermith's mark, next to the guarantee mark with the head of Parthenope, by the punching of a number in Arabic numeral corresponding to the new legal fineness: n. 4 for the goodness of thousandths 917;
no. 5 for the fineness of 834 thousandths.

In my opinion Donati has misunderstood something, since in the examples that I have been able to see, I have always seen only three marks:
Partenope, number and silversmith.
I'll try to look into details it and if I find anything I'll let you know here.
Regards
Amena

[Aguest]

::::: Thank you for your research and yes the actual words of the 1808 law #242 would be very helpful ::::::

::::: Unless the "Number 4" and "Number 5" were applied by an Assay Master to absolutely certify the level of silver in the piece therefore those numbers could be considered a sort of "Assay Master Hallmark" which actually kind of makes sense: an Assay Master would apply a numerical mark as if to say "we certify this object is 834/1000 or 917/1000 purity level, so we will stamp this 4 or 5 on this object as a permanent indicator of fineness" but you really would expect either a set of initials or a very distinct official-looking symbol to represent the authority of the Assay Master like you would find in all the other city-states of Italy during the time of the French Influence 1808-1823 (if there is another city-state that does not have an official Assay Master hallmark as appears to be the case in Naples, I am not aware of it, all the different city-states that I have researched have a distinct Assay Master hallmark that is either a set of initials or a very official-looking hallmark to guarantee the authority of the Assay Master). :::::

:::::: I still seriously doubt that the numbers "4" and "5" are the official Assay Master hallmarks, but if the law #242 did stipulate an Assay Master Hallmark, the numbers are the only other option. ::::::

[amena]

Well, after digging deeper, here I am trying to explain what I found.
It's not easy to do it even in Italian, let alone in English.
The first thing that catches the eye is that the law contradicts itself

In articles 6,8 and 9 we read
6. On each work, both gold and silver, there will be three marks:
1st that of the manufacturer,
2nd That of the assayer,
3rd That of the fineness of the material used.

8. The assayer's mark will contain an emblem established by the administrator of the coin mint, and which he will keep himself, to imprint it on the works on which he will have done the test.
9. The fineness mark will be uniform throughout the kingdom of Naples. It will consist of a woman's head seen from the face, decorated in the form of a Parthenope, larger for the silver works, and somewhat smaller for the gold works. It will also contain one of the Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; that is, the first three for the different gold finenesses, and the last two for the two silver finenesses, as set forth in art. 2. It will be inscribed and impressed by the assayer, who after having applied it to a work, will remain responsible for the value of the fineness.
Here therefore it is clear that the third mark, the one of the fineness, will be the head of Partenope which must also contain the figure relating to the fineness and must be struck by the assayer.
However, later, in article 39 we read

25. The guarantee office will be composed of three main employees, namely an assayer, a receiver, and a controller. The number of their subordinates will be fixed by the Minister of Finance according to the needs of the trade.
39. The controller will have a register, also stamped, like that of the assayer, and will transcribe the extract from the register received. After that he will take the office punch and the one indicative of the fineness from the box with three keys and apply them to the work, in the presence of the owner.
Here, therefore, the mark of the guarantee office and the one indicative of the fineness are said to be two different punches, which are applied by the controller.
This is the law, in practice instead, as Catello himself tells us on page 112 of his book, the assayer's mark was never adopted.
It must also be said that there are Parthenope heads of various sizes and designs, and I have not found an explanation for this in the literature
Below are some examples

[Aguest]

:::: I was wondering if there were fineness numbers contained within the mark of the Parthenope itself, similar to the French Rooster hallmark of 1809 which has different fineness numbers beside/underneath the rooster symbol, so it turns out that the law actually wanted a combination-style hallmark similar to the French Rooster hallmark of 1809, but the law goes on to contradict this proposal when describing the actual hallmark stamping procedure (with the mandatory 3-lock box of course you need 3 keys) and mandates TWO SEPARATE punches, one of the Parthenope and one of the Arabic Number Fineness (4 or 5 for silver). :::::::

::::: The Assay Master did his best to comply with the law, which contradicts itself, and I think having the large separate fineness number is a better solution compared to having a Parthenope with really tiny numbers right next to it, the Assay Master really did a good job solving this contradiction, and the large fineness letters really help the buyer to absolutely know the fineness in very large Arabic Numbers instead of having to squint and peer into the Parthenope with a magnifying glass, it's an interesting story, and I thank you for solving the mystery. ::::::

::::: I hope I got the story right, I will read again just to make sure. ::::::

[Aguest]

"8. The assayer's mark will contain an emblem established by the administrator of the coin mint, and which he will keep himself, to imprint it on the works on which he will have done the test."

Is there any way to figure out who was the "administrator of the coin mint" in 1808?
Whoever this person was, he never got a chance to establish an emblem because the assayer's mark with that emblem was never actually used.
Perhaps we will never know what design would have been chosen by the administrator of the coin mint in 1808.