Early Tower-Shaped Spicebox – Elegant, Meticulous Filigree – Galicia or Austria-Hungary, Late 18th Century

Early Tower-Shaped Spicebox – Elegant, Meticulous Filigree – Galicia or Austria-Hungary, Late 18th Century
Silver tower-shaped spicebox, adorned with flags in the shape of animal heads. Galicia or Austria-Hungary, ca. late 18th century.
Silver (marked with the hallmark and tax mark of the city of Lemberg-Lviv, 1806-10) filigree; granulation; spiral silver thread; parcel gilt.
Bottom portion of shaft pyramidal and square-based, supported by four animal legs, and surmounted by a convex cube; above this, shaft broadens once again. Main segment of body cubic, with arched doorway on one side. Base of cube fronted on all sides by balcony decorated in floral filigree pattern. Four vertical edges of cube column-shaped, made of thick, spiral silver thread; originally, each of these columns was surmounted by a small, gilt flag in the shape of an animal head; only one of these remains. Main segment of body surmounted by a four-sided, four-edged onion dome, in turn surmounted by another convex cube. Above this is a narrow cylinder supporting a gilt flag shaped like an animal head, surmounted by a globular apex.
Height: approx. 22 cm. Good condition. Arched door missing. Three of four flags surmounting columnar edges missing. Loose parts. Soldering repairs. Animal-shaped legs may represent later additions.