Featured Egyptian Silver Tray (Hallmark Help, Plz!)

Measures 15" by 9". Weighs approx 1kg (2lbs), or just under.



These are the hallmarks.

From what I understand:

(1) is the milessimal purity mark (900, I believe).
(2) is the assay mark (a lotus-flower).
(3) is the date-letter or date-symbol.

Can anyone confirm this or show me where I can find more information? I have studied Egyptian silver marks before, but that was a long time ago. My knowledge of them is scant, at best.

 

You've got the 3 marks correctly identified!

https://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks2.html

 

Done a bit of poking around. The fineness is definitely 900. Thanks for the help!

 

You know it's post-1946, but if you really want a more specific date, I think someone here posted a list of Arabic date letters.

 

I did, somewhere.

 

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/6-silver-teacups-went-cheaply.27452/page-2#post-366003

 

The assay mark is actually the one on the left. It includes the town where it was assayed, and the fineness.
The lotus is the national mark, since 1946. Before that the national mark was a cat.

It is post-1968, when they introduced dots as fineness marks. I don't really know how that works, I don't usually come across recent Egyptian silver.
The town mark is a bit blobby, I can't really make it out.
Your particular date mark is in Tardy, but they didn't bother to say which date it is.

 

Try this: http://hallmarkwiki.com/?country=egypt

 

The date mark is there, but again no mention of which date it is.

 

Can you clarify this for me? They have been using the Arabic zero, which looks like a dot, always, as far as I have ever seen. They frequently put 80 or 90 instead of 800/900, one dot instead of two. Not sure what you are referring to?

I see it is there only because some other perplexed soul inquired about it, but received no answer. I have seen that mark more than any other. Similar to several letters, yet not really a good match for any. Have wondered if they stopped putting a date mark on & this is the mark indicating item is from the post-dating era.

Interesting, although I have no idea of the accuracy:
http://rawi-magazine.com/articles/everlasting_lustre/
Unfortunately, you need to be able to read Arabic to get full use out of it.

 

Yes, what you just mentioned, the dots without a 6, 8 or 9 in front. At least I think that is what you meant. Or are we both confused and confusing each other?

 

The latter. I have not seen a dot or 2 dots used alone; they're meaningless without a number in front of them. What I think I'm seeing on Shangas' piece is a badly punched, incomplete 9 in front of the dot. Assay office is blobby, but Cairo seems to mark the majority of stuff.

 

I agree. The dot in the left hand cartouche is a zero. It's 90 parts in a hundred silver. And that has been used for as long as Egypt has marked silver. Alexandria by the look of that lotus flower shape.

 

I think the first mark is just a big question mark. They probably used a very worn punch.

 

Cross posted with Bronwen. A single or two dots is indeed meaningless sans the first digit. I'm seeing an Arabic 9. And dots are not used on their own.

 

Wow. it looks beautiful