Order of the Star of Ethiopia Miniature - Unknown Maker

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

 

I detail below a recently obtained miniature - silver gilt with central cabachon.

 

In recent years it was sold by two auctions houses as the Order of Ismail of Egypt!

 

It is nicely made and marked  with a crescent, a crown and 925.

 

The crescent would indicate an Arab manufacturer, but numbers are not in Arabic script thus not, to my mind,  Bichay of Cairo.

 

Does anyone recognise the marks and have any idea who made this?

 

Thanks,

 

Owain

 

 

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

 

A search on the internet has indicated that the manufacturer of the miniature is from Germany.

 

There were two minimum standards, 14 carat for gold and 800‰ (800 mil or 80% fine) for silver. The imperial crown, the Reichskrone, within a circle representing the sun ( Reichskrone und Sonne) was to be stamped on gold, and a crescent or half moon with the imperial crown (Halbmond und Reichskrone) was stamped on silver. The actual fineness of the metal was expressed in thousandths, and a mark identifying the company, or the trademark of the business, which stamped and guaranteed the marks.

 

Sadly in this instance there is no maker's mark.

 

Regards,

 

Owain

.

[Rusty Greaves]

Owain,

Congratulations on getting this mini & saving it from more auctions as an "Order of Ismail". Was it still suspended on a ribbon similar to Ismail? It seems you've found some info on the marks. Maybe this is redundant, but 925 is the silver fineness mark for sterling silver, 92.5% silver.

[oamotme]

Yes, It still had an Ismail pattern ribbon which has now been discarded! I suspect the past two purchasers saw the name rather than the medal and upon its arrival realised their error. Owain