blueyes29
|
posted on April 23, 2006 01:42:43 PM
I've got two antique (I'm pretty sure) tumblers that I need some help with. They're made of some sort of metal...can you identify? Both are pretty heavy. Each weighs 9 oz. and stands 3 3/8 inches tall. The tumblers LOOK like they might be silver then covered with a finish of some sort which was scraped off with steel wool. I don't know if this is how they were orginally made or a result of human action. Both tumblers have a dragon design in relief that extends completely around the sides. Any help identifying the metal/process/age/etc. will, as usual, be greatly appreciated.
[ edited by blueyes29 on Apr 23, 2006 01:44 PM ]
|
sparkz
|
posted on April 23, 2006 07:09:40 PM
It may be the lighting, but it looks like a silverplate item that someone has tried to clean with TarnX.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
|
hwahwa
|
posted on April 23, 2006 07:31:26 PM
you need to show the shape of the cup,and lighten the dragon.
sometimes you can tell from the dragon whether it is Chinese or Japanese.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
|
ladyjewels2000
|
posted on April 24, 2006 06:59:04 AM
It looks like someone painted these with silver paint and tried to remove it with steel wool?? See if you can remove some on the bottom with paint remover.
|
LtRay
|
posted on April 24, 2006 01:11:35 PM
NO! NO! NO! Don't go near them with paint remover!
This are most likely Japaneses silver plate or "chromed" bronze. Both popular with the returning soldiers from WWII.
Blueyes give us a pic showing both pieces together. Have one standing up straight with the other one laying on its side so we can see the inside.
Dimensions sounds too short for a tumbler, too tall for a Sake and too heavy for potmetal.
Might want to place a soda can in the pic for size reference.
|
ladyjewels2000
|
posted on April 24, 2006 02:00:19 PM
Sorry but the bottom looks like someone painted it with silver paint to me.
The surface looks like it has a thin layer of rust as well. Maybe it's just the photo?
|
leads
|
posted on April 24, 2006 03:33:17 PM
WWII trench art is what it looks like to me,from maybe China Burma India or Japan duty they made ashtrays etc. good luck
|
LtRay
|
posted on April 24, 2006 03:36:41 PM
Here is the only set I could find for reference. Chinese Dragon Cups
*These are probably silver and only weigh a 1/3 of what your's weigh. I suspect yours are some type of mixed metal with a plated finish.
Lady, I doubt the surface is rusted. If you get a chance to see much victorian triple-plate, the finish will look similar to that. Strong chemicals will destroy what is left of your finish and probably pit the base metal. Victorian triple-plate
I had an old Japanese cream and sugar set that I just recently sold at a yard sale whose bottom finish looked like Blueyes'. I believe they were post war simply because the Japanese do not traditionally do tumblers and serving sets. Those type of pieces would be made for the export market.
[ edited by LtRay on Apr 27, 2006 09:44 AM ]
|
birgittaw
|
posted on April 24, 2006 05:08:49 PM
For some reason, spelter (white metal or pot metal) comes to mind here. The finish may have been bronzed/brassed -- the remnants look more brassy than silvery at least on my monitor.
I'm terrible at dating metals, particularly Oriental motifs, so can't give you help here. They are definitely absolutely not trench art, however.
B/
|
LtRay
|
posted on April 24, 2006 06:03:15 PM
Brig, potmetal or spelter was the first thing to come to mind when I saw them, but Blueye's says they way 9 oz each! They must be made of lead [grin]
|
birgittaw
|
posted on April 24, 2006 06:51:09 PM
Well, 9 oz. isn't all that much. JUST weighed my empty 12 oz. glass beer bottle, and it's over 7 oz. Ahem. And I've had spelter chandeliers that have weighed almost as much as iron.
They really remind me of what used to be sold in department stores when I was growing up in Sweden and that we gave for Christmas when we had a budget of $10 for the whole family! I think that makes them almost antique.
B/
[ edited by birgittaw on Apr 24, 2006 07:21 PM ]
|
blueyes29
|
posted on April 26, 2006 08:57:31 PM
Thanks for the comments/info. Here are some more photos...The metal underneath the "coating" is some sort of silver-colored metal. Both tumblers have the sort of streaked appearance and I just can't imagine that this would have been intentional. I think the WWII time frame might be accurate. Any more comments/thoughts/ideas will be appreciated...and thanks again!
[ edited by blueyes29 on Apr 26, 2006 08:59 PM ]
[ edited by blueyes29 on Apr 26, 2006 09:03 PM ]
|
irked
|
posted on April 27, 2006 12:33:28 AM
Look like brass to me. But I am brain dead so pay no attention just had to put my 2 cents in.
**************
Some minds are like concrete,
thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
|
hwahwa
|
posted on April 27, 2006 06:12:10 AM
This aint no silver,probably brass or pot metal.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
|
LtRay
|
posted on April 27, 2006 08:46:57 AM
Made me look 
Blueyes, since you say the base metal looks silver, I suspect it is the standard "potmetal" used for silverplated items. Uncoated, it will appear as a dull pewter finish.
The weigh had me confused until I weighed my Meriden waste bowl. It is a wopping 15 onces, so nine for tumbler may not be so out of line.
My Meridan is victorian Quadruple Plate, so your tumblers might be older than WWII. The lack of a hallmark still has me suspecting that they were a foreign import.
|
LtRay
|
posted on April 27, 2006 09:43:32 AM
Blueyes, you need to contact this seller and let him know you have cups to match his plate. He should be willing to give you GOOD money to go with his valuable plate <g>
Dragon-plate-very-rare
PS, I like the plate, but ....
|
neglus
|
posted on April 27, 2006 10:06:55 AM
I'm not sure Blueyes' tumblers are "whereing" as much as the plate...$2,500???? and he can't spell "wear"??
-------------------------------------
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
|
hwahwa
|
posted on April 27, 2006 11:29:02 AM
posted on April 27, 2006 09:43:32 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blueyes, you need to contact this seller and let him know you have cups to match his plate. He should be willing to give you GOOD money to go with his valuable plate <g>
Dragon-plate-very-rare
///////////////////////////////////////////////
Not only did the seller mispell wear,he also did not give the dimension of the plate?
The legend of a guy who killed a tiger is Chinese but if you look at this guy,he looks more like a Japanese warrior dressed in armour and he is also carrying a sword.
This plate could be Japanese,not Chinese.
Not sure if any one will pay that kind of money on Ebay,but if he lists it under Japanese rather than Chinese,he would get more interest and more bids.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
[ edited by hwahwa on Apr 27, 2006 04:13 PM ]
|
blueyes29
|
posted on April 27, 2006 10:25:49 PM
Thanks, all...appreciate the help and comments. Maybe I WILL contact the guy with the plate...he can offer me a fortune then sell his plate and my tumblers as a "set" and, I'm sure, recoup his expenses! 
|
