Rare Antique Sterling Silver Articulated Fish Spice Box Set Of 3 19th C Judaica For Sale

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Offered for sale is a Set of Three (3) Antique Silver Articulatated Fish Spice Boxes in . I believe the setis sterling,but I cannot find any markings on them.

There are two thatmeasure 5 1/2" long and the other measure 4" long.

My research discovered that these were used during Havdala rituals or Judaica ceremonies. The head of the fish lifts open to reveal the chamberwhichholds the spice, besamin. My mother-in-law never used them for that though, she displayed them on her majolica lazy susan. Aside from their uniqueness, they are definitely nice conversation pieces.

This is an estate piece, antique, in used but good condition. As the picture reflects there is oxidation inside one of the fish heads. There is a small strip of silver missing from thesmall size box which connects the head of the fish to the body, so when the box is open the two parts stay connected. This could be easily repaired by a silversmith.When the fish head is closed there is a hook on the underside which keeps it shut.

I will be listing many other unique estate pieces so please take a look at my other sales.

All sales are final so please ask any questions prior to offerding.

On Feb-19-13 at 07:35:45 PST, seller added the following information:

I have just learned this weekend, (when I brought the fish to a jeweler to find out their weight,) that the set of fishare not sterling.

As a result of this, I have tried to removed the reserved price, butit does not allow me to do that we offers placed, so I have changed it to be higher than the highest bis. I cannot remove the BIN.

If you have placed a offer with the understanding that the fish are sterling, please remove your offer accordingly. I apologoze for the inconvenience.

I will say that the fish are still a charming and unique set as is.

This item has been shown 163 times. Rare Antique Sterling Silver Articulated Fish Spice Box Set Of 3 19th C Judaica: $449