Expert: Martin G Roberts - 1/26/2009

Question
I  have an 8 inch bowl that was given to my parents by some Swiss friends. It's
fairly battered & appears to be quite old.  It has a rim approx. 1/2 inch wide,  
with a single groove near the edge of the rim.  There are three touchmarks at
the bottom, in a circle, depicting a short-legged angel with large, wide
wings.  A sword is in its right hand.  The name over the angel looks like
"FRIES", and beneath it is inscribed (I think) Englisch Fein Zinn.  Any idea
where/when this was made?

Answer
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Hello Meg,

Your bowl bears a mark suggesting an origin in the German speaking parts of Switzerland in the 18th Century. Fein Zinn means "fine pewter", and Englisch is there because at the time English pewter was regarded as the best - it is just a bit of a marketing scam by the Swiss pewterer! In fact, English pewter was not noticeably better than European products, but that is another story.

Hope that helps.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk