Large and Unusual 835 Silver and Enamel Germany Compact for Saks Fifth Avenue

Here we have a large (3 1/4" diameter) gold-washed .835 silver (835/1000 parts pure silver - 925/1000 is the sterling standard) compact with a band of pale yellow enamel rimming an elaborate bucolic scen of a man, two women, and two sheep lounging by a large fountain with a cityscape in the background.

On inspection with a magnifier, the scene shows crazing lines and that's when you realize that those lines are not in the finish but are from the lines found on the original painted canvas! So the process used to get that scene onto the compact is some sort of photographic lamination. We've never seen that before.

This German made (so marked on the edge) compact features a large bevelled mirror on the interior. No remnants of powder are there. The metal on the back side exhibits a machine-engineered pattern and shows scratches commensurate with use and the outline of a rectangular label but no glue residue can be felt. It is impress marked 'Saks Fifth Avenue' along the edge as well as there being an 835 mark on the underside of the clasp.

The clasp is a very secure spring loaded one.

Item ID: twt2906