Can someone please help identify this piece for me ?

[waywardangler]

The mark of "900" identifies it as coin silver and might be a foreign country such as Turkey. It definitely looks like a Se. inside a reverse C. The image looks like cloisonne to me and Adam & Eve as mentioned. I would like to know if this is a match box cover or a match box slide. In other words, how does the match box fit in the holder.

[mariok54]

Hi.. You say that there was a match box inside it, do you still have it? If it was contemporary with the piece, then that possibly might provide some clues.

[cjmusic]

I do still have the match box but i put it out in my garage as it seemed to have some black mold on it .. the box was red and said victoria and under it safety matches and the box was heavily damaged

the matches would slide into the piece while still in there match box .. then you would slide out the match box out and pull a match out

i will take pictures tonight when i get home

[cjmusic]

here is a picture of the matches that where in the match case when i got it, The matchbox was pretty beat up and looked to have some black mold on it .. prolly got wet or somthing

can anyone think of what Se stands for ? or sec or cse ? are there any artists with those initials you can think of ?

its so hard not knowing who made this piece

thanks everyone for all the help

[cjmusic]

does anyone think that maybe the SE stamp on the front is somones initials who owned it ? i was looking up the initials SE and i found this .. her initials where SE and she was an artist .. what do you all think ?
here is a link

http://rwnaf.org/media-room/view/?id=68

[waywardangler]

I do not think it is an owner's mark. I believe it is a maker's mark that has not been determined yet.

[cjmusic]

i was thinking that and took about 3.5 hours today looking through thousands of makers marks and silver stamps and did not find anything at all ! only reason i thought maybe would be initials is becuase it seems like if it was the makers mark they would put it on the side with the silver stamp not right on the front of the piece but im sure you are right and it is the makers mark .. does any names come to mind with initials Se ?

[mariok54]

Thanks for posting a photo of the matchbox, but I'm not sure that it is any help to me. I was half hoping it to be a European make. The marks don't necessarily need to be a makers' mark, although I think in this case Wayward is probably right, it could just be the city where it had been Assayed mark. I was initially thinking Turkish, but at the time this was made I think that it would still have been the Ottoman Empire, and they had very distinctive markings.
Anyone able to date the matchbox? That will at least tell you the youngest that this piece can probably be.

[waywardangler]

Victoria was a trademark name of the Universal Match Company that was founded in 1925. Looking at the timeline of their match names, Victoria would be in the 1940s, although no date was given.  http://matchpro.org/Archives/Hobby%20History/UNIVRSAL.pdf

Looking at the stylized figures in the enameling, they also appear to be of a more modern design. I think the matchbox holder and the match box are likely of the same time frame...1940s.

A nice Victoria box on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/Victoria-match-box-/110699707034?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c6377a9a

This eBay auction said they were from the 1950s or 1960s http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=320675762537&si=N2iTzgs1A0JGPdKJK6DdoiBeJSU%253D&viewitem=

[cjmusic]

i still have not been able to find anything out .. i contacted this guy who i thought would know and this was the email i got back

Your piece is 900/1000 silver fineness and was made in a country of Continental Europe (Italy or a country in East Europe: not Germany, Austria, Russia or France). I believe it was made about 1920.

Sorry but I’m unable to identify the maker.

Regards

Giorgio

does this sound accurate to everyone here ? i did see another matchbnox that was the most similiar thing i could find .. but it still was much different and was said to be made in 1893 and was done by the ____ brothers maybe ungas brothers ?

[mariok54]

That sounds about right to me, and the reason why he has discounted those countries is because they have  easily identifiable hallmarks (but I don't know why he has included France, Germany etc. in east Europe.As Wayward identified earlier it is 900/1000, common to coin.
Wayward, you could be right that the matchbox and holder are contemporary, but I think that the figures look stylized because they are enameled, and not of the same quality as some of the finest cloisonne pieces. It looks like it is cloisonne but  fairly crudely done (and I'm not being disparaging). I think that it looks earlier than the 1940s ... and would say anywhere between 1900 and 1920. JMO 

[waywardangler]

Mario, I am not sure about dating this piece. Could be whenever that figure style was "in". I just clumped it in with the estimated match box date. I agree the cloisonne is not finely done but do not think the style of the figures is the reason. I think it is the artist.

The Se in the backwards C I believe is the artist's stamp. Probably a lesser known or local artist. In an earlier post I forgot to mention why I really do not think it is the owner's mark...owner's would have had their initials or mark engraved rather than had a special metal stamp made up. A special metal stamp would cost more than engraving and not worth the effort unless one was stamping many personal pieces.

This is coin silver, not sterling or silverplate. Not used much from what I have read except in foreign countries like mario said that do not have hallmarks established. I was actually thinking Russian but their cloisonne work is better done. I could not find a similar Adam & Eve image anywhere and that is why I think this is a small or local artist/firm.

[mariok54]

Mario, I am not sure about dating this piece.

You, me and about 6 Billion others I'd say! 

[waywardangler]

I will stick my neck out and say it was made after Adam & Eve became famous!  

The mark could also be the mark of the retail company that sold it.

[mart]

I would date the piece around 1920 but have no idea about the mark !  I am just looking at the style !!