Lot 5329

Description

Mizpah diamond inset brooch, in 18ct gold (9.64g; 33mm), a 50pt diamond inset within a star pattern engraved onto a plain, hollow, circular brooch, reverse border inscribed, 'Mizpah 3 May 1889', and hallmarked with a crown 'H.Steiner 18.c Adelaide' and lion passant, with safety chain. One small surface dent and hairlines, otherwise very fine.

Henry Steiner, a prominent goldsmith and jeweller, started his business in Adelaide in 1858 after arriving from Hanover in Germany. After a downturn in business and loss of his family to typhoid in 1883 he sold his business and returned to Germany in 1884. He returned to Adelaide in 1887 and stayed until 1889 before returning to Germany.