Featured Compact/Powder Box

Hey folks!

I am interested in purchasing this powder box, but struggling to identify the marks. Seller is not sure of the material of the box. Anyone recognize the marks or the origin?

Pictures are taken from the seller, not mine.

Thanks a lot in advance

 

Very pretty!

 

Same shape from Poland ...
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1109116007/vintage-polish-800-silver-vanity-compact?gpla=1&gao=1&

https://kolekcje.muzeumwarszawy.pl/en/objects/1331/

 

looks Poland made

 

A is slightly enlarged, and B is 2X enlarged, but was most difficult to try to clean up at all, but I'd say it's definitely a 3, which I originally thought might have been a fancy 'J'......Pretty little compact though!!!

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SS refers to sterling silver often I think. Which would be the resting if it’s assayed at .800. Maybe it doesn’t refer to the purity in this case. Great looking piece!

 

Beautiful Egyptian Revival compact, Erik.

The SS mark is not an assay mark, so it doesn't refer to sterling silver. It could be a maker's mark.
Countries that assay silver items use official guarantee marks, not abbreviations. .800 is the purity, as indicated by the 3 in the Polish assay mark, which is punched not only for the tax on precious metals but also as a state guarantee that the silver content is indeed as marked.

 

I didn’t say it was an assay mark. Just that it often refers to sterling silver. Typo that it would “interesting” if it were marked for sterling despite being assayed at .800. I’m sure you’ve seen your share of pieces that were assayed for sterling silver but also marked “sterling”, “ster” “silver” or “SS”. I’ve also seen pieces marked with a decimal mark above .925 but marked “sterling”. I then went on to say that it may not refer to sterling in this case at all. My point was that sometimes that is what SS means on a piece of silver, if the poster didn’t already know that.

edit: it had already been clearly established that it bore .800 assay marks.

 

Thank you so much everyone once again! I always receive help and best advice on here. I will definitely purchase this little thing

 

You didn't, and that isn't what I said or meant. But I should have explained it better, because we are dealing with a cultural difference.
So here is another try:
Countries that use assay marks don't use abbreviations that have no legal value. They rely on the guarantee given by a government agency. So no one in Poland would even think of SS as a mark for sterling silver, it is an alien concept.
The same goes for most other European and North African countries.

 

Which is why it was very strange to me that you should make the connection, but again, that is a cultural difference.
But I hope you understand now why I wrote what I did yesterday. I try to be as precise as I can, to avoid confusion on a forum that is read by people from all over the world. Don't always succeed though.

 

@i need help, I know AJ said not .800 silver, but this is the only one I found on your link, where, behind the woman's head I see a clear "W" and something unreadable above that...that I circled very lightly........and sometimes I try to ask too much of my "enhancing" programs, and all they do is mess it up........they also keep changing some of the settings, which I'm not necessarily fond of!!!!!!! ALSO, on Erik's original image of that mark....what I see enhanced as a 'W' in my image, it looks more like an 'R' of sorts on Erik's image!

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"I know AJ said not .800 silver,"


AJ sez.....800 is the purity, as indicated by the 3 in the Polish assay mark, which is punched not only for the tax on precious metals but also as a state guarantee that the silver content is indeed as marked.

I'm confused @Aquitaine

 

Komo is right, AJ said .800 silver.

The letters stand for the assay towns. W is Warsaw. The R is probably a P, for Poznan.

 

@komokwa, I too was confused, but figured I'd let those of you with better knowledge about the "metals/content" figure it out!!

 

Folks, just sharing that I got this lovely compact, cleaned it a bit and it's beautiful. Very heavy piece and way more beautiful in real life. Here is a photo.

 

It really needed that clean, it is a beauty.