Toothpick Holder (paliteiro) Amphitrite In Partially Gilded Silver - Porto, 1853 - 1861

Toothpick holder ("Paliteiro")
Porto, between 1853 and 1861
Solid silver, partially gilded
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Total height: ~17 cm
Weight: 256 g
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Amphitrite, dressed in an antique dress, emerges from a large shell. He is missing his crown, of which a fragment of a tenon remains at the back of his skull. The veil that the goddess held in her hands, and which was fixed by a tenon above her right hip, is also missing. The subject and the shell, cast separately, are screwed to an eight-sided column shaft, erected on a square terrace whose plant decoration, worked in carving and embossing, is of very good quality. The terrace is set on four lion's paws. ----- - Porto hallmark, controller Caetano Rodrigues de Araújo, used from 1853 to 1861 [VIDAL p.11, n°102] - Control stripe - Unidentified goldsmith's hallmark [initials MJG, see VIDAL p. 148, n°1444] - Unidentified B mark on the terrace. ----- Very good general condition. The missing veil can be replaced with a toothpick. Wear to the interior silver-gilt of the shell. ----- Reference Manuel Gonçalves Vidal, Marcas de Contrastes e Ourives Portugueses Desde o Século XV a 1950, Casa da Modea, Lisbon 1958