ID unknown toy sodiers--Exquisit? Italian make? (1 Viewer)

[theBaron]

Hi, all,

Here's a little puzzle for the gang...I saw these toy soldiers in an auction on eBay/Germany:







I've never seen these before. The foot figures are 54mm, and the mounted figure may be, also, though his horse would be a little small in that scale.

The seller listed them as "Exquisit" as if that were the brand name. And indeed, there is a stamp on the underside of the bases that could suggest that, here, under the base of the mounted figure:



and under the bases of the foot figure:



However, it occurs to me that that stamp could be a hallmark as well, indicating the quality of the alloy used to cast them.

I can't make out all of the writing in the other stamp, but what I can read of it suggests that these may be of Italian make. The beginning of the inscription looks like "Lavorazione a mano", or "made by hand".

The presence of what could be a hallmark also reminds me of similar figures sold by tinsmiths in Germany. I remember seeing toy soldiers in shops selling drinking vessels, plates, etc, in pewter. And the figures would be marked with the same hallmark the smith used on the other items.

In any case, I hope someone may have more info about these figures.

Thanks in advance, prosit!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Duh. I forgot to look up the rest of the inscription, "Hama peltro". I haven't translated "hama", but "peltro" is "pewter". That further confirms to me that "Exquisit" is not the brand, but merely a hallmark.