This is a lovely vintage silver pendant by Ernst Gideon Bek of Pforzheim, Germany, best known for his high end mesh purses in gold, silver and platinum.
The pendant features a flower basket of roses and large-petalled flowers with leaves and ribbon swags, within a smooth-polished border. It is slightly domed and the design is deep-relief, hand worked and engraved with fine little details.
The pendant most likely dates to the mid-1920s, when the flower basket motif was particularly popular, and no later than 1931 when the Great Depression ruined exports to the U.S. and finally bankrupt Bek’s business.
It has a large, non-detachable bale, notched either side at the top to hang nicely on its chain. It is 3.4 cm long by 2.4 cm wide (1 3/8″ x 15/16″) and weighs 6 grams.
The reverse is marked “800” with Bek’s maker’s mark of a butterfly. The chain is 40.5 cm (16″) long with flat links and also 800 silver as marked on the end ring.
The pendant is in very good vintage condition with only some age-related surface scratching. However, it has been mistreated. The number “1869″ has been crudely scratched on the back and it has been insensitively over-cleaned, removing much (though not all) of the design-enhancing tarnish from the crevices. Of course it should not take long for this to build up again, left out and occasionally just rubbed, not scrubbed! Apologies that I find silver difficult to photograph well – this is a lovely, quality pendant.
