Posted 10 years ago
upstatenyc…
(263 items)
OK, folks I need some help with this one. As you know, I like enamel, and silver. I saw these in one of my favorite shops, they were having a "lets make a deal" night. The dealer had them marked as Silver, Ca 1870s. For all I know, they are Kryptonite, from Mars. I've never seen anything like these. There are no markings or hallmarks on them that I can see. A Google search turned up nothing. There is one pen, and one pencil, the pencil tip is slightly damaged, but the bodies on both are in great shape. The markings appear to be identical. The sphinxes are quite detailed, and they are very nice overall. Does anyone have any idea when they were made, who made them, or any other information? I'd sure love to hear from you if you do!
Gorgeous...
I received the following information from Jim Marshall at http://www.antiquewritingitems.com 12/31/2013
Morning Steve
I have seen these before but it is not certain if they were made in France, Italy, Germany or UK. They coincide with one of two periods- The suez canal period which stimulated a lot of interest in all things Egyptian and then the 1920s with Howard Carter - My feeling is that they are more likely to be !9th century -
The engravings usually mean nothing and are a mix of heiroglyphic signs and Coptic or Heiratic script
The casting of the sphinx terminal is somewhat crude but they are always interesting as figural pieces.
The material is a bronzed metal mix- my guess is about 1880 and possibly sold as novelties in shops in US, UK < France and Italy and perhaps in shops in Egypt also.
If I was selling them I'd put them out about $150 each
Hope that helps
Jim
I paid $140 for the pair, so I guess I did OK!
Got something similar and they came from an Argentinian dealer.