Italian Sterling Silver Classic Mask Pitcher 19C 42oz

MONUMENTAL LATE 19TH CENTURY ITALIAN HAND WROUGHT STERLING SILVER EWER; CLASSIC RAISED URN DESIGN; RICHLY CRAVED MYTHICAL BEASTS AMIDST SCROLLING FOLIAGE; BREATHTAKING CLASSICAL MASK CAP HANDLE; SIGNED; EXCELLENT CONDITION; NEVER MONOGRAMMED; 42 OUNCES We are exceptionally pleased to offer this monumental late 19th century Italian sterling silver classical mask ewer. An artistically hand wrought silver masterpiece. Worthy of the most advanced Continental silver collection. This elegant ewer in classic raised urn form. Lavishly carved pairs of mythical beasts, facing one another. Front paws atop shaped pedestal. The pair amidst streaming bell flowers and lush foliage. Set against hand hammered satin background. Elegant beaded border frame. Scrolling palmette decoration to lower body, stem and base. Finest hand chased finish detail. Breathtaking classical mask, set atop hand carved handle. The youth's face hauntingly detailed. Deep set penetrating eyes, long angular (classical) nose. Thick, curling hair cascading down along the ewer's neck. The classical mask with bead and leaf cap upper terminal. The lower handle entwined and gently rippling. Much like a serpent's tail. The ewer supported perfectly upon thick, stepped domed circular base. Never monogrammed. This monumental late 19th century Italian ewer 16 3/4 inches tall and 9 1/2 handle to spout. Exceptionally thick, heavy guage sterling construction, weighs 42 ounces, bit less for handle. Excellent condition. Near pristine. Rich, lustreous sterling patina throughout. The lavishly detailed mythical beast and scrolling foliage and massive classical mask atop the handle retain their original crisp, vibrant hand chased detail. The original fruitwood handle perfectly secure, and retains a warm, mellow patina. The ewer stands perfectly firm on table. The underside of spout with seemingly endless subtle surface variations. Illustrating the hand wrought origin of the ewer. Fully hallmarked to underside. Including "925" and double struck maker's mark within cut side, lozenge. Too deep into the base to read. For the discerning collector of fine 19th century Italian hand crafted sterling. This museum worthy 19th century Italian sterling silver classical mask ewer. Almost 17 inches tall and 42 ounces. Never monogrammed. In excellent condition. Please feel free to inquire directly about this, or any item we've listed. Whether the item is alone or part of a set. We very much welcome your interest. We are collectors first. As such, we are quite easy to work with. We happily combine items when shipping, saving you costs. We ship twice weekly, usually US Postal Priority. Fully insured for domestic packages, and air parcel overseas. We charge a bit more than actual cost for custom size boxes, shipping materials and to pay for professional packing. We make great effort to accurately describe each item listed. Returns are accepted, if either condition, country of origin or dating is significantly incorrect. In such cases we refund your shipping costs as well. Like you, we are only human, and make mistakes. Hopefully, not too many. Remember, the items you see are antiques. Hence, have an expected amount of wear from normal use. As such, returning an item because we failed to mention the tiniest bit of wear, or barely discernible flaw is not acceptable. Nor do we accept returns based on buyer's remorse. Nor change of taste, or because a buyer did not realize how "small" four inches might be once in hand. Please note, Massachusetts residents are subject to sales tax. We have over 4415 feedbacks. And, are quite proud of our 99.9% rating. We received favorable notice in the March 12th, 2006 New York Times. Page 8, Business Section, in a well written article on silver collecting. Copy furnished upon request. From our personal collection, an elegant mid 19th century coin silver basket, from John and Edward Moore, of Tiffany fame. Illustrated in the cover article of May/June 2008 Silver Magazine, page 2... read more