Featured Help identifying this cup

I agree with you on the silver marks.
but not on the language, especially the forgotten r in Wanderte is unforgivable.
there may be the slight possibility that the silver smith was Polish/Lithuanian or Russian and the fault went unnoticed when bought. but then there certainly was practically no silver smith that didn't talk proper German in a then German city. so...

 

Who knows if they hired an engraver who was 2 Groshen cheaper but a bit shaky on spacing or spelling? Who knows if the buyers were literate enough to notice? When the possibilities are many, the conclusions must be equally multipled, to the point where the detail becomes merely a feature of an old piece, and not forensic evidence of fakery.

According to the original post it has been in the family for generations. Even 50 years would predate it to a time when no one would be at all likely to make that much effort to fake a rather ordinary piece of silver from an area where there was no market for it.

 

I see your Wanderte as Wandle spelled Wandele

 

that would make sense.
promenade on roses
(and then the rest could be one long verb)
and don't forget me

 

Might consider contacting Theo at the silberpunze site referenced, or present it on the forums at 925-1000 - he's a regular there, along with others knowledgeable in German silver, and he's always looking for new images for his site...

Please read the posting requirements if you decide to post here: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10

~Cheryl

 

Hi everyone,

Sorry for my absence. I posted this one back in August and stopped receiving emails about updates after my last reply. I assumed no one had posted anything else on it.

To say the least, it's very interesting what I've read so far and thank you everyone for chiming in!

I'm going to follow Cheryl's advice and share this one with Theo.

Thanks again!

 

I admit I have no particular qualifications to participate productively in this discussion, however that deficiency never seems to stop me. I agree with the thought that this item is unlikely to be any kind of fake as the motivation to fake something like this seems to be missing. Have we considered it's possible production and use by groups in locations other than Europe who spoke German but who may have changed the language slightly or left their dictionaries back in Germany? Any chance this was engraved by the mis-named "Pennsylvania Dutch" who traditionally spoke German, but not necessarily Hochdeutsch?

 

I'd hate for it to be a fake :/
Let's see what anyone else can find out about it.
At least it has sparked an interesting conversation

 

Just catching up with the newer posts in this thread. Very interesting... please come back to post an update if you find anything more.

Fig

 

Was hoping Esteban would return with the information from Theo - his response, in part, regarding the cup:

"...cup is from Berlin. This type of cup is typical for the 2.nd half of 18. century. IACO/BI is the makersmark = Jacobi (probably Johann Christian Jacobi, oo1752 - but I am not sure). The [FW]-Mark is a prussian taxmark from 1809-12. It is 750/1000 silver.

Unfortunately, the cup is not in good condition. The engraving was placed later,
which reduces the value of a collector. The ornaments have become badly worn."

~Cheryl

 

Sorry! Wasn't sure you'd want to read about that.

Anyway, as per Theo's request, he asked me to weigh it. I finally got a hold of a scale and it shows 128 grams.