Featured Is this brooch a solje? Mysterious fir symbol maker's mark...

How pretty is this!
I see too a * between the A legs

 

Thank you, kyra.
Not as grand as you brooch, but I have been feeling a huge Sølje pendant void in my life for some time. So you understand, this purchase was purely therapeutic.

 

Wow, beautiful!

 

A very pretty therapeutic piece - I like the red and green glass cabochons, kinda gives a nod to its German manufacture. Don't know the mark, and poked around a bit without luck - for what it's worth, I see a star or similar under the 'A' too, the larger letter should be the surname if one person's initials, but it could be two surnames for partners, or the 'G' could stand for 'Gebrüder',,,

Somewhere in my files have some clips from German trade journals showing or mentioning similar, can dig them up in a bit...

~Cheryl

 

Thank you, Cheryl. I wear more pendants than brooches, and this saves me from having to try and shove a brooch pin through the tube of a converter, only to find out it won't go all the way.

That's what I thought. Those are used in Central European regional jewellery as well, which made me suspect it wanted to be a sølje, but wasn't.

If you don't mind going through your files, I would be very grateful.

 

WOW, Any J!! Yours also is beautiful!!!! You girls know how to find the good stuff!!!! Kyra has the good magnification equipment, but mine also shows I'm not sure what between the legs of the A.....almost looks like a 'mini' A.....but it's SO HARD TO TELL!!!!!



This little one's inverted..............

 

Thank you Aqui.

Thanks, yes it does look like a mini A, with a dot next to it. Amazing detail, if you think how tiny the entire mark is.

 

Okay - these range from 1902 to 1904 German trade journals, and I have to depend on a translator, which can sometimes be a bit wonky...




Short article in the same edition:





This answer to someone looking for Norwegian filigree seems to suggest that it's questionable as to whether the firms mentioned have pieces by Norwegian makers:






Another answer to the same question, suggesting Alex Maseberg:









~Cheryl

 

Fantastic! Thanks for digging

 

If I recall correctly, this bit is from an article on the author's visit to a trade show or exhibition:









~Cheryl

 

Wow, thank you. That is such an interesting history, and it means that some of my unmarked enameled Sølje brooches could be German as well.
At the time the Germans had this 'back to nature' culture, and I know Norway was seen as an example of wholesome living. That could explain the interest in things Norwegian, including Sølje.

 

Yes, the show is the 'Leipziger Messe' which is a general name for several types of trade fairs held in Leipzig since the 19th century. This one would have been the precious metals manufacturers trade fair.
'Zur Messe in Leipzig' means 'at the fair in Leipzig', and it gives the address, and which floor they were on, second floor, booth 12.
Second floor is third floor in the US. (Not that it matters...)