Had to have it! Art Deco Austrian 900 silver enamel design cigarette case C1922-42

These are rare and I only found this out once I started looking for information about it. It is fully hallmarked with 900 inside the case, the letter R, and a serial number. As well there is a cartouche impressed on the tab to open the case, and on each piece along the edges in a tiny 1cm size, with a very hard to see symbol.

The shape of the cartouche is important so it is certainly post 1922, there were several birds used bt the new Republic of Austria, they indicated the amount of silver, mine has a number 2, and the bird that could be a toucan, see in image 4.

There was a dedication etched inside in Croatian, commemorating a historical event in 1918. That is where it gets confusing, I'm not sure when this case was made exactly, how it ended up being used as a gift dating 1941. The highly volatile nature of this area and the many changes it caused, makes it difficult to study what happened during the interwar period.

I just know I fell in love with this gorgeous silver case sold at a private estate auction, possibly inspired by the Vienna Secessionist design.