Photo Credit: Sina’s-Antiques-and-Fine-Arts
Portuguese Art Nouveau Silver Cigarette Case – Circa 1900
Buy It Now Price: $495 (price as of 2017; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This is a magnificent antique Art Nouveau silver cigarette case that was made in Portugal around the year 1900.
-It measures 80 mm (3.15 inches) long by 60 mm (2.36 inches) wide by 16 mm (0.63 inches) thick. It weighs 46 grams (1.48 troy ounces).
-This Art Nouveau silver cigarette case is stamped with the wild boar (II) hallmark. It indicates this piece was made in Portugal between 1886 and 1938 from solid 833 fine (83.3%) silver.
-This Portuguese Art Nouveau silver cigarette case features an elegant repousse iris flower sculpted in high relief on the front and a gilt interior. Repousse is a metalworking technique where a design is hammered into the reverse of the metal, causing the image to bulge out in relief on the front.
-Art Nouveau was a naturalistic art style that was extremely popular between 1890 and 1910. It typically featured women, flowers or insects, often in flowing, languid poses.
-This Art Nouveau silver cigarette case is exceptionally well-crafted. It is obvious that a master silversmith painstakingly handcrafted this design over many hours. Workmanship of this caliber, while almost never encountered today, is rare even among antiques.
-Even if you don’t smoke, this lovely Art Nouveau silver cigarette case would be perfectly suited as a credit card holder or makeshift money clip.
–Antique silver cigarette cases are a severely undervalued niche of the antiques market today. As interest in vintage tobacciana inevitably grows, I would expect this undervaluation to eventually reverse.
Cons:
-I wish the seller had posted close-up photos of the hallmarks. As it stands, we are relying on the seller’s accurate description of the hallmarks. I should note, however, that it is notoriously difficult to get good close-up photos of silver objects.
-This Art Nouveau silver cigarette case is fairly small and light. When dealing with silver items, heft is often an indicator of quality. I don’t think that is the situation here, however. Instead, I think this silver cigarette case just has small dimensions which limit its weight. It is obviously of the finest craftsmanship.
-Given its fairly small size, I think the asking price of $500 is a little bit too high. I would, however, not be shy about giving the seller a “best offer” of $350 to $450 dollars.
-This Art Nouveau silver cigarette case is fully valued. However, I’m going to paraphrase the famous investor Warren Buffett here. “It is far better to buy a wonderful antique at a fair price than a fair antique at a wonderful price.”
