Featured Request for Help: Art Nouveau Iridescent Crackle Vase Silver Frame Stamped Double Headed Eagle MH

(This is a composite piece so I am going to have to post this in two forums for help.)

I just inherited from my mother an antique vase. The vase is comprised of both glass and silverplated metal. The glass is a golden mustard yellow color with a light iridescent sheen and a crackle texture. The silverplated framework is clearly Art Nouveau and stamped with a double-headed eagle on a horizontal oval cartouche background. The eagle has a crown above its head and is holding a scepter in one claw and an orb in the other. On either side of the eagle is marked M H. The overall structure including the silver framework is 12.25 inches (31.1 cm) tall and 7.25 inches (18.4 cm) wide. (The height of the glass by itself measures 10.5 inches or 26.7 cm respectively).


I have an idea of where the silversmith may have originated but before I disclose my own thoughts, I would like to hear other people's assessments. I have no idea who the glass maker is or where the glass comes from. I also do not know if the glass and the silverframe come from the same maker or whether the silversmith obtained the glass vase separately and incorporated it into their design.

1. Can anyone help with the following questions:
2. Who is the maker of this vase? (Or who is the maker of the glass vase and who is the maker of the silverplated framework?)
3. Where did it come from?
4. What year do you think it would be?
5. Does anyone know of a good certified appraiser in the Washington DC metropolitan area? (This would include DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia.)
6. In your personal opinion, what would you value it at?

Thanks to all who can help.

 

Loetz glass with Moritz Hacker mounts.

 

Hi goodeye!

{you may still be able to edit your images to display full-size, makes it much easier to view}

Not an expert on silver and using my phone so i can't follow through much more than: The double headed eagle mark was a mark used in Russia much earlier than Art Noveau style was developed, but possbly: loetz

 

There you go

Since it's not my area, I'm still happy i could come that close...

Very beautiful

 

Are you sure the case work isn't solid sterling, goodeye?

 

With regard to questions 5 and 6 - because others have answered on 1 to 4 - are you looking to sell or keep?

I suspect it's silver.

 

Silverplated pewter...

~Cheryl

 

I defer to Cheryl on that.

 

i see it now - the spots on 3rd image.

(I was looking at the patina at the bottom.)

 

In Washington, DC, try Weschler's Auction house, downtown. Or Quinn's Auction house in Falls Church. Both are excellent, reputable establishments and do appraisals. Matthew Quinn appraises on Antiques Roadshow. We've bought from both over the last 10 years or more and highly recommend them.

 

I can guess the kind of figure it would sell for here, but that's probably not much help.

 

You're right about the material. Good eye.

 

Thanks so much. This will be very helpful.

 

I am still deliberating on that.

 

It's a different value, that's all. An insurance replacement value will be about four times what you could sell it for.

 

AND THE AWARD GOES TO....Anundverkaufen!

Anundverkaufen, you are correct on the maker. With your help I was able to track down proof and verify this vase to be of great value. (Due in part because both the glassmaker and silversmith are highly sought after.) At first I had trouble verifying your answer because Moritz pieces are so rare, what ones were available almost never had photos of the hallmark, and what hallmark photos were available varied in style so widely. But because you answered so quickly and unflinchingly, your confidence spurred me on to persevere until I found an item that gave undeniable proof. Below is another Moritz/Loetz combination vase that I found. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/A-MORITZ-HAC...U-IRIDESCENT-CRACKLE-GLASS-VASE-/251665753413
THANK YOU ANUNDVERKAUFEN!

And thanks so much to everyone else who took the time to view my post, help me out in what way they could, and generally support me as I struggled through this detective work. THANKS EVERYONE!

 

I wondered, because the mark on 925 was spelled out in caps, so i was curious how it might be sorted out.

 

Just be aware that that this vase did not sell for sure, the listing was ended by the seller. This could be because they sold it on another venue or they sold it out right to someone who contacted them or maybe they decided they could not part with the piece.

Regardless of the outcome of their vase, you have an exquisite vase.

 

STUNNING !!!! What more can I say.....

 

Yes, I had thought of that too when I looked at the eBay ad. But then I did some more searching and found a number of pieces supporting it's value. Here are a couple of more pieces listed by Miller's Antiques, the go-to authority on antiques for many decades now. The pieces they have listed are high in prices and don't even have the benefit of the Loetz vase.

http://www.millersantiquesguide.com/search/?keyword=Moritz+Hacker&submitted=1&gobut.x=0&gobut.y=0