Featured Info on two silver items (zippo lighter and compact)

Hello

I'm looking for any info on two items that I bought on flea market last week.
Silver Tiffany Zippo lighter and silver vintage compact.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Compact marked 800 and Italy
Zippo lighter marked Tiffany & Co Italy 925

 

a flea market....you say.......wow.....those fleas are fer shizzal !!!!

Tiffany sterling silver lighter with a samodorok finish that was a special order for Zippo lighter corporation and their good customers. The case is marked Tiffany & Co Sterling, Italy, 925. The lighter is signed Zippo. The patent date on the lighter is 2032695 which was between 1937-1950.



oh...and the compact is nice too !!!

 

Samodorok finish is a "trade/advertising name for "reticulated finish",it is usually made with 835 or 800 silver.

 

Absolutely love both of them, lots of detail on both silver items.

 

Lovely, very nice finds.
Those beautiful enamelled silver powder compacts with famous paintings were made in post-war Florence, Italy, until about 1970. This one is of the Venus by Botticelli, the original is in the Uffizi Museum in Florence.
Here is some info:
http://www.davidandnoelle.net/Reflections of Beauty for Rozsmallversion.htm#bott

And here is one for sale, different subject, similar style:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/172704774/800-silver-enamel-italian-signed-fallaci?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=silver+enamelled+powder+compact&ref=sc_gallery_5&plkey=a8a4f6c38ae893f4ae655e9fc64dcd8594c0e03c:172704774

 

Welcome!
GREAT photos!

 

The lighter seems to have an Italian 1944 to 1968 standard form maker's mark lozenge with cut sides to the right of "Sterling." These lozenges contain the maker's number and the abbreviation of the province where the silversmith is registered. I can't make out the number on yours. It may be a digit figure like 108?? The province abbreviation is a "F" and another letter. The 2nd letter could be an "I" for Firenze (Florence), "E" for Ferrara, "R" for Flosinone, etc... I just can't make out the 2nd letter.

BTW, these lozenges from 1933 to 1944 had a "fasces" in the middle of them. When Musselinis Fascist Party fell in WWII, "the 'fasces' symbol was obliterated from the maker's mark."

http://www.925-1000.com/Fitalian_marks_01.html

--- Susan

 

Great editing again, Susan. Yes, it looks like an I, FI for Firenze, Florence.
And it also looks like 108. If it is 108, the makers are Angiolo Mannucci & Enrico Grazioli, who worked from 1935. They went out of business between 1955-71, apparently the registration wasn't very detailed at the time:
http://www.silvercollection.it/SILVERSMITHSFI1.html

 

The compact case has one of these Italian maker's lozenges also. The shape dates it from 1934 to 1968; however, can't see what is in it good enough to tell if it has a "farces" in the middle (1933 to 1944) or just the maker's number and province (1944-1968). Also can't read the numbers or province initials very well. If there is a "farces" in the middle the number may be "12" and if no "farces" the number 120 or 121??? Anyways knowing the maker and province at this point probably isn't that important in selling.

--- Susan

 

Great editing, but still very difficult to tell.
But as I wrote before, the timeframe for these silver enameled art compacts is post-war till 1970, so the mark would be without the fasces, the 1944-1968 period.
We can probably narrow it down a bit more, as most of these compacts were made after 1950. That would make it 1950-68 with certainty, and maybe a bit earlier.

 

Thanks for a very detailed info.

I have one more question.

On a compact, is there an enamel loss where the ornaments are around main scene? Or this is the way it was intended to be?

Thanks again.

 

could be some loss...check with a loup for rough edges

 

I don't see it, but best to check with a loupe as Komo says.
The swirly decoration around the enamel is meant to be without enamel, as are most parts between the decoration and the outer border:

 

I absolutely LOVE both pieces, so don't get me wrong here!!!!! But just a quick question for my own curiosity......were they really that bad at stamping "STERLING"??? The "S" looks SO much exactly like the number "5"......it just looks strange to me.....maybe they just didn't have an "S" handy????

 

samodorok

I think that should be "samorodok".

 

Sloppy stamping on Tiffany pieces often means it is not the real deal.

 

Hummmm.....OK then.......now finding different items.......hummmm



with a different look....



Make of it what you will !!!

Maybe the 1st one I found & the OP's are both fakes ...??? I dunno !

 

but then.....a collector calls this original......



Sooo.....who's a whatsis & WTH do I know..!

 

This looks like the real deal to me.

 

With reticulation every surface texture will differ from another.The process is somewhat random and exact textures cannot happen.