Silver miniature mill cup, Schoonhoven, 1895

Silver miniature windmill cup made by an unknown silversmith in the 19th century.

The finely crafted cup is decorated with a floral motif.

The cup is marked, among other things, with pseudo hallmarks. This was done to make a 19th-century silver miniature appear to be 18th-century. There was especially high demand for 18th-century Dutch silver from England. This demand was met through the use of pseudo hallmarks. The cup is also marked with English import hallmarks: SBL for Boyce Landeck from London, import mark F, and the first standard mark.

Finally, the miniature is marked with the first standard mark with export key, Minerva head M for Schoonhoven, and year letter L for 1895.

This is therefore a replica of an 18th-century windmill cup. These were used as a parlor game during parties, where the cup had to be emptied before the miniature windmill's blades on the cup stopped turning. If not? Then the cup had to be refilled and emptied again.

The miniature is in good condition.

Weight: 25.1 grams. Dimensions: 2.5 x 9 cm.