+Markowitsch & Scheid 1875 Mechanical Vesta Case In .900 Sterling With Niello

Mechanical vesta case designed by Michael Markowitsch & George Adam Scheid.

Beautiful antique fusee vesta case, created in Vienna Austria at the silversmiths workshop of Markowitsch & Scheid, around the 1875. Crafted during the Austro-Hungarian empire period in solid .900/.999 silver standard and decorated with organics motifs made up in the Niello technique. It is fitted with two hinged push doors at each sides and a rotating screw for the wick. Has two movable rings to hang into a chain or a watch chatelaine. 

Weight: 22.4 Grams, (14.36 Dwt).

Measurements: 47 mm by 32 mm by 11 mm (1.84 x 1.26 x 0.43 Inches).

Hallmarks: Stamped with Austrian marks; the A for the city of Vienna, the maker's mark M&S associated to Markowitsch & Scheid and the Austro-Hungarian mark (1872-1922) of Diana inside a hexagonal lozenge with the number 2 for the assay of the .900/.999 silver.

Georg Adam Scheid & Michael Markowitsch

He was born in Schönau Baden, Württemberg on July 28 1838. He started his apprenticeship in 1853 and operated afterwards in Pforzheim and Stuttgart. In 1858 he came to Vienna and entered the workshop of the gold, silver goods producer and jeweler Michael Markowitsch. He married one of Markowitsch daughters and in 1862 the company was renamed Markowitsch & Scheid and adopted the mark M & S. It was located in Sandwirtgasse 8, and then in Gumpendorfer Straße 83. In 1882 they separated and Shied started his own flourishing operation, employing up to 300 workers. The silver decoration factory was named "G. A. Scheid" and used different marks. It was located in Gumpendorfer Straße 85. Markowitsch & Scheid was then owned by Adolf Markowitsch alone, a son of Michael Markowitsch, and kept the same mark, the company shut down in 1898. Specialties of Sheid's factory were cigarette cases, powder boxes, write sets, toilet sets as well as jewelry boxes, which were also sold in large quantities in Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and Spain. To ensure the supply of raw materials in 1888 Scheid opened up his own refinery where, from precious metal wastes, raw material as well as semi-manufactured products, as sheet metals and wires were produced. The operation grew rapidly and covered not only his own requirement but goods were also exported abroad and with the establishment of sister operations in Budapest (1891), Prague (1920) and Bucharest (1923) Scheid took control of the market. In 1894 the sons Arthur (1870-1897) and Robert (1872-1950), as well as his nephew George (1850-1937), stepped in as partners. In 1911 George Adam Scheid withdrew from the business life and Robert and Georg Scheid took over. Robert and his younger brother Ludwig (1886-1960) then assumed the management. After the First World War, fall of the overseas market for the decoration sector and the bad economic situation led, as a consequence, to the liquidation of the decoration factory, while the "Affinerie" continued and in 1962 merged with the Ludwig Roessler GmbH to form the ÖGUSSA GmbH, which still exists today.

Niello

Niello is a black mixture, usually of copper and silver, used as an inlay on engraved or  silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed into the engraved lines in the metal. It hardens and blackens when cool, and the Niello on the flat surface is polished off to show the filled lines in black, contrasting with the polished silver. It may also be used with other metalworking techniques to cover larger areas. The metal where Niello is to be placed is often roughened to provide a key. In many cases, especially in objects that have been buried underground, where the Niello is now lost, the roughened surface indicates that it was once there.

Literature: Eric Schaling, George Adam Scheid, A Remarkable Viennese Silversmith 1838-1921, 2018. Pp-74 for the hallmark illustrated and Pp-61 for similar objects illustrated.

Collateral: It is accompanied by a presentation jewelry box.

Condition: The overall condition of this piece is excellent. Beside the little normal wear, there is no damage to the silver. All parts are secured in the settings. This vesta case has been carefully inspected to guarantee the condition and authenticity.

INVENTORY REF: D082423XSSM/.6641