ITALIAN
SILVER MARKS AND HALLMARKS
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created by Giorgio B. owner of www.silvercollection.it ©  |
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| ITALIAN HALLMARKS 1872-PRESENT ITALIAN MAKERS MARKS GENOA LOMBARDO VENETO NAPLES PAPAL STATES ROME PIEDMONT SICILY VENICE PSEUDO HALLMARKS FORGERY IN ITALIAN SILVER |
| THE DIRECTORY OF 20th CENTURY ITALIAN SILVERSMITHS (SORTED BY PROVINCE) |
| AL | AR | BL | BO | BS | FE | FI | FO | GE | MI | MO | NA | PA | PD | PR | PV | RE | RO | ROMA | TO | TS | TV | UD | VA | VC | VE | VI | VR |
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The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the
Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of
Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of
the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of Naples to distinguish it from the island-based polity. During much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Aragon's/Spanish dynasties. In 1806, following decisive victories over the allied armies at Austerlitz and over the Neapolitans at Campo Tenese, Napoleon installed his brother, Joseph as King of Naples. When Joseph was sent off to Spain two years later, he was replaced by Napoleon's sister Caroline and his brother-in-law Marshal Joachim Murat, as King of the Two Sicilies. In 1816, after the defeat of Napoleon, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon was restored to the throne of Naples merging with island-based Kingdom of Sicily to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1860 Naples and the territories of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies became part of the Kingdom of Italy. (based on information by Wikipedia.org) |
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The use of the marking of silver in Naples
dates back to the fourteenth century during the
reign of Joanna I of Anjou. The first official
documentation of this practise dates back only to
1437 and is the privilege issued to goldsmith Paolo
di Roma by King Alfonso of Aragon. Over the following centuries the Goldsmiths' Corporation became very powerful, so that the Viceroy Count of Sant'Esteban, August 19, 1690, promulgated "The Pragmatic De Monetis LVII.". This Law imposed the concentration in Naples of all activities involving the processing of precious metals and the use of 833.33/1000 fineness. (on the right) Portrait of Joanna of Anjou, the First Queen of Naples from 1343 to 1381 |
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1) mark of silversmiths' guild
2) initials of the name and surname of the alderman with the addition of a "C"
3) initials of the master silversmith (or the full surname, especially in the 19th century).
THE GUILD OF SILVERSMITHS MARK
The Guild's mark consisted until 1690 in the abbreviation "NAP" or "NAPL" or "NA" (the latter only from 1680) surmounted by a crown.
From 1690 to 1699 under the abbreviation of Naples have been added the last two digits of the year.
Since 1700, the date has been indicated by including the last three digits of the year. However, some exceptions are known, 1729 - 1732 - 1735, when the year was indicated in four digits.
These punches, as well as the date, differ also in the shape of the crown and remained in use until 1808.
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c. 1437 |
c. 1465 |
16th century |
1619 / 1680 c. |
1680 / 1690 |
1694 |
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1702 |
1739 |
1745 |
1786 |
1808 |
THE ALDERMAN MARK
The alderman used a mark with the initials of his name followed by the letter "C" (meaning "Console").
This punch was of rectangular shape until the end of the 17th century (the last was that of Marcantonio Di Benedetto elected "console" in August 1700).
Later, the punch was of various forms: square, round, oval, roughly triangular, hexagonal. In almost all cases, however, the letter "C" was on a separate line (below the initials of the "console")
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Domenico
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Salvo
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Melchiorre
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Giuseppe
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Aniello
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Nicola
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G.Battista
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Domenico Antonio
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Gennaro
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Nicola
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Aniello
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Giuseppe
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THE SILVERSMITH'S MARK
The silversmith used a punch with the initials of his name and surname. The initials were on a single or on two lines inside a simple contour (often rectangular). In the 19th century, in some cases, the silversmith used a mark with his full name.
The use of marks with the illustrated symbol of the workshop, widespread in most other Italian regions, was not followed in Naples.
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Andrea Blasio
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Angelo De Luca
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Giovanni Casolla
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Gennaro Iaccarino
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With the Napoleonic invasion of the Kingdom of Naples the new rulers (Joseph Bonaparte, 1805 - 1808, and Joachim Murat, 1808 - 1815) fully reformed the activities related to the gold and silver manufacture.
The Guilds were abolished, any activity was liberalized, the decimal system was adopted introducing the organizational model active in France since 1797 (Law 9 Brumaire, Year VI - November 9, 1797).
The Law n. 242 of December 17, 1808 established new purity degrees for gold and silver. Two levels of fineness were admitted for silver: 917/000 and 834/000. Each piece was punched with:
· warranty mark;
· assayer mark;
· maker's mark
The warranty mark depicts a female bust and represents the mythical siren Parthenope. Aside this mark was applied an Arabic numeral ranging from one to five. The numbers 1, 2 and 3 were used for gold, while 4 and 5 indicated respectively 917/000 and 834/000 silver fineness.
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1st silver fineness
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2nd silver fineness
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Other marks used during the "French" period were a "V" and an "S" (coupled with "4" or "5"). In the literature examined the use and nature of these punches is controversial.
Some authors (Ugo Donati and Donaver-Dabbene) report the "S" as the symbol used to mark the imported silver and the "V" that used for "old" silver. In contrast, Elio and Corrado Catello do not mention the hallmarking of foreign silver and attribute the mark "S" to "old" silver.
FROM THE "KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES" TO THE "KINGDOM OF ITALY"
1824-1832
Following the presence of numerous false dies, King Ferdinand I, on December 15, 1823 (decree No 881), introduced new marks for precious metal and abolished those in use since the French domination.
The new mark depicted the head of Parthenope guardant towards right with aside the number indicating the fineness or the "E" (Estero) for imported silver. The silver fineness was represented by the Arabic numerals:
· 7 for 916/000 or 11 ounces
· 8 for 833/000 or 10 ounces
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1st silver fineness
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2nd silver fineness
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mark for
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head of Ceres looking left into a square with "7" for 915/1000 silver fineness and "8" for 833/1000 silver fineness
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1st silver fineness
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2nd silver fineness
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With Decree No 723, January 26, 1832, to further differentiate the domestic from foreign production, the marks were modified adding to the profile of Parthenope the letter "N" for domestic ("Nostrale") or the letter "E" for foreign silver ("Estero").
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Domestic silver 917/000 |
Domestic silver 834/000 |
Paolo De Blasio
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Gennaro Mannara
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Gennaro Mannara
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Foreign silver 917/000 |
Foreign silver 834/000 |
With Decree No 5207 March 4, 1839 was introduced a special mark for worship objects dedicated to the religious service. This mark used the symbol of the "Cross" instead of the female profile.
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Religious silver
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Religious silver
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The law May 2, 1872 issued by Vittorio Emanuele II King of Italy liberalized the production of precious metals. Only an optional and voluntary control was provided for the verification of silver fineness.
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1st silver
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2nd silver
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3rd silver
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(courtesy Claudio Morelli / ASCAS)
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