All right, replicas, sort of. The 10th century Hiddensee treasure was found in the 1870s on the German Hiddensee island in the Baltic. Right from the start the jeweler firm of Ahrens, later Stabenow (1900-now), were involved in the care and exhibition of the treasure. Because of the value they were asked to make copies of the originals, and were given the sole right to make Hiddensee inspired jewellery. These two silver gilt lovelies were made by Stabenow. They were listed without the right description, so I got them for 4 euro. They are not a set, one is .800, the other .835 silver, and only the bar brooch has a maker's mark. Though Viking, the style has been described as Byzantine Christian inspired, which is not unusual. Through the extensive trade routes of the time, and Viking presence in the Black Sea area and other Byzantine regions, Byzantine items and their influence spread throughout Europe. Viking elements are the knot designs, the Thor hammer, and the bird face, thought to be an eagle or an owl. Any idea of the age of these two? 1920s-30s? The hammering on the bar brooch looks a bit Arts&Crafts, but the hinge looks later. The clasp is a fold over C clasp. And the bail on the pendant, Deco? Height of the pendant is 4.1 cm/1.61". Width of the brooch is 6.6 cm/2.59". My apologies for the shaky pictures, have had a fever for about a month now. Thanks for looking. The real Hiddensee treasure, gold, spectacular:
I haven't a clue.....just finding your knowledge incredible.......and that of anyone else who is able to answer.
Thanks Judy. History was as important as art when I grew up, that helps. My father was a historian and my mother was the artistic one, she also knew a lot about mythology. We traveled the world, and they always took us kids to cathedrals, castles, museums, etc, which we loved.
It's a pleasure to be in the same "room" with you.......... To be so knowledgeable, share that knowledge, and be so friendly is a rare quality. This Board is full of knowledgeable friendly members......and I love the humor to boot!
Thanks, you've made me blush again. It is a wonderful board, and I too love the mix of knowledge and fun. Great to be here.
Sorry to hear about the fever, but a 4 euro purchase price would be reason enough to be shaky Marvellous stuff. Well done, be better soon.
Hi Any Jewelry, Reference to your posted pictures of Viking treasures... Curiosity made a very interesting info thru e-sites that made someone scan to: ===>a slice of Viking history at http://www.dandebat.dk/eng-dk-historie20.htm ===>a slice of data that scientists estimated that the orginal Viking treasure are dated 1st half of 10th c. CE , reference to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)2014 exhibition ===>a slice of picture exhibit...other than wikipedia... http://www.c-stabenow.de/site/index.php?id=332 ===>a slice from one traveler named CR May with experience from a museum... http://cliffordmay.com/angles-saxons-celts-and-vikings-an-afternoon-at-the-british-museum/ ===>a slice to share a comment according to your jewelry acquired and posted. There are no distinguishing maker's hallmark for the pendant and brooch. The pendant is marked of silver purity S835 and E mark might be assumed and marked at nearest dated year 1972 (ref...webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/...britishhallmarkingcouncil.../hallmarks2.pdf.......see shieffield) and the 200 on the pendant is a mark for 14k white gold. ===>for more comforting results there is a site that may of help regarding info for the jewelry goto http://www.925-1000.com/forum
Thank you Nokita, you've really delved into this. The thing is, jeweler Ahrens, later Stabenow, have been making this Hiddensee Treasure inspired jewellery the 1870s and are still making it. The brooch has the Stabenow mark, and the pendant can only be Stabenow because they have the sole right, and these are not items for the fakes industry. The silver fineness marks are the usual for older German jewellery, so there is no doubt there. In my view, since they have been making Hiddensee jewellery for over a century, the only way to tell the age of these two is to look at other characteristics, like the hinge, the clasp, and the bail.
For four Euro I'd have pounced on that too. The age is almost immaterial in this case. They're marked as exactly what they are ... and I hope you're too busy wearing it on your pajamas to sell it!
