Salute, my friends!
After several hours of searching, I gave up, hoping for your help. I’m trying to decipher the markings on a small (13 cm high) crystal vase topped by a silver ring. It’s definitely London and 1904, but the markings seem to have been re-stamped. The maker’s initials are also enigmatic. Any ideas?
A.B is certainly the maker’s mark. Culme does not show a mark which is exactly the same but I wonder if it is this one with the surrounding either polished out or not full stamped. The curve to the right of the B appears to be in the right place.
As a silver mounter Barthaud would certainly be a candidate for this vase rim.
I don’t think that the hallmark has been re-stamped. This is the sort of distortion due to polishing which normally appears on thin silver used for this purpose.
Dear Master Phil, Thank you for your, as always, substantive response. I dare say the markings have a suspicious frame, indicating that someone has tampered with them…
