THE  PROBLEM  OF  DETECTING  FORGERIES
As  strict  and  exact  as  Contemporary  hallmarking  regulations  appear  to  be,  a  variety  of  Problems ­
  recurred  time  and  time  again.  Viennese  silver  was  forged  long  betöre  the  20th  Century.
In  order  to  evade  the  duty,  many  Viennese  gold-  and  silversmiths  were  already  forging  and
falsifying  various  marks  in  the  18th  and  early  19th  centuries.  They  soldered  hallmarks  from
other  products  into  their  wares,  or  failed  to  have  their  plate  hallmarked  or  rehallmarked  in
time,  as  a  result  of  which  it  was  confiscated.  In  addition  to  these  Contemporary  forgeries  and
falsifications,  there  are  also  many  from  the  late  19th  and  20th  centuries.  In  some  cases  various ­
  hallmarking  peculiarities  which  the  forgers  were  not  normally  aware  of  can  help  us  to  detect
  such  forgeries.  A  falsified  hallmark  is  easiest  to  recognise  when  the  punch  was  produced
by  the  forger  himself,  as  the  figures  often  have  a  different  appearance  from  genuine  dates.
The  majority  of  forgeries  and  falsifications  occured  after  1806,  and  can  be  detected  by  the
lack  of  hallmark,  rehallmarking,  duty  or  stock  mark.
THE  TECHNIQUES  OF  WORKING  PRECIOUS  METALS
Problems  of  Interpretation  are  not  limited  only  to  hallmarking.  The  correct  transcription  and
evaluation  of  archive  material  is  just  as  important  as  recognising  the  techniques  used  in  the
manufacture  of  a  specific  article.  One  reaches  the  limits  of  interpretation  more  often  than  one
would  like  to.  Often  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine  the  techniques  used  in
the  manufacture  of  a  specific  object  (shape  and  decoration).  The  question  as  to  whether  relief
  work  was  produced  by  punching,  rolling,  pressing,  casting  or  embossing  is  especially  difficult ­
  to  answer  in  the  case  of  snuffboxes,  as  sometimes  the  back  of  the  work  is  no  longer
visible  due  to  the  insertion  of  a  second  flat  plate  in  the  lid  or  bottom.  Soft,  rounded  details  are
not  necessarily  a  criterion  for  mechanical  Processing,  as  very  Sharp  detail  could  be  produced
even  with  a  punch,  for  example.  On  the  other  hand,  the  surface  of  an  object  is  often
smoothed  and  rounded  from  frequent  use  of  the  object.
In  many  cases  it  is  also  hardly  possible  to  differentiate  between  manual  engraving  and  mechanical ­
  guilloche  work,  as  both  techniques  involve  the  use  of  the  same  implement,  the  graving
  tool,  and  it  was  even  possible  to  guilloche  straight  lines.  Establishing  production  techniques ­
  is  further  complicated  in  the  case  -  which  seems  to  have  been  the  rule  -  where
several  techniques  were  employed  on  a  single  object:  subsequent  engraving,  chasing  and
punching  of  a  pressed  lid,  or  engraving  after  guilloching.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  recognise
continuous  chasing  work,  which  was  used  to  conceal  joints,  but  there  are  also  surface  patterns
  which  were  produced  by  chasing.  Incised,  sharply  etched  drawings  can  sometimes  be
very  similar  to  engraving.  Furthermore,  when  examining  both  decoration  and  markings,  it
should  not  be  forgotten  that  final  blanching  (in  the  case  of  silver)  or  “yellowing”  (in  the  case
of  gold),  polishing  with  pumice,  polishing,  gilding,  etc.  also  had  an  effect  which  could  alter  the
characteristic  features  of  a  production  technique  (e.  g.  rounding  off  sharp  edges,  etc.),
though  they  do  not  obliterate  them  completely.
A  detailed  account  of  the  technology  of  precious  metals  would  far  exceed  the  scope  of  the
present  catalogue,  and  will  therefore  be  the  subject  of  a  separate  publication  complementing
my  book  on  glass  technology  (Glass  1905-  1925,  from  Art  Nouveau  to  Art  deco,  volume  IV,
Kleine  Technologie,  Vienna,  1988).
However,  a  brief  overview  of  the  most  important  technical  processes  and  terms  is  provided
here  in  order  to  give  the  reader  an  understanding  of  how  the  precious  metal  Objects  contained
  in  this  catalogue  were  produced.
Metal  is  usually  worked  in  the  form  of  sheet  or  wire  (filigree).  Sheet  is  produced  by  first  Casting ­
  the  metal  into  plate,  which  is  worked  by  forging  and  hammering  until  the  desired  thickness
  of  metal  sheet  is  produced  either  by  hammering  (hammered  sheet,  previously  the  only
method)  or  rolling  (rolled  sheet,  later  in  general  use).
Plating  involves  joining  two  sheets  of  different  materials  with  one  another.  Wires  of  precious
metals  are  produced  by  drawing.  The  unauthentic  “Lyons”  wire  was  an  imitation  of  precious
metal  wire  made  of  base  metals.
SHAPE
Metal  sheet  is  the  most  important  raw  material  for  the  production  of  precious  metal  objects.
A  number  of  tools  are  required  in  the  gradual  Processing  of  the  sheet  into  the  finished  object: ­


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