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Ditty Bag: Thai Sterling Silver Cigarette Set

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Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series

Thai Sterling Silver Cigarette Set

The travels of Admiral Arleigh Burke are the topic of fascination and awe for many United States Navy enthusiasts. Some of our exotic and unique collection items were products of his travels. This silver cigarette set from Thailand is no exception.

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This cigarette set (NHF # 1976-639-04-D) was a gift to Admiral Burke during his 1956 visit with Mrs. Burke to Thailand. The set is comprised of four pieces: Tray, ashtray, cigarette box holder, and match box. Each piece is silver (note the tarnishing) and speaks to the high level of Thai craftsmanship.

Tray measures - 9 ¾ ‘’ x 6’’

Tray measures – 9 ¾ ‘’ x 6’’


Ashtray measures - 2 ¼ ‘’ x 1 ¼’’

Ashtray measures – 2 ¼ ‘’ x 1 ¼’’


Cigarette box holder measures - 3 ¼’’ x 2 ½’’

Cigarette box holder measures – 3 ¼’’ x 2 ½’’


Match box measures - 3 ½’’ X 2 ¾’’ x 1 ½’’

Match box measures – 3 ½’’ X 2 ¾’’ x 1 ½’’


MarkingThe reverse of each piece is marked ZN800, denoting deluxe quality silver. These pieces are beautiful, despite their tarnish, and represent the high quality of vintage, Thai silversmith work.

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05d807eDitty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation is a new artifact blog written by Emily Pearce, NHF Middendorf Curator. She will periodically write posts about various artifacts and accessioned items in the Naval Historical Foundation collection and their impact on naval history. You can view all of the collections highlighted in Ditty Bag on our Flickr page HERE. To contact Emily or to inquire about NHF collections, please email Emily Pearce at [email protected].

For previous releases of Ditty Bag, Please go HERE.

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2 Comments

  1. John Barlow

    The Thai silver cigarette set from Admiral Burke is Indonesian silver, not Thai. The workmanship and style is Yogya and is not remotely Thai.
    If you look on the net for ” Encyclopedia of silver marks, hallmarks & makers marks” and then Yogya marks you will see the style of embossing and the exact silver mark ZN800 (ie maker ZN and 80% silver content) listed.
    Not trying to be pedantic but I have a large collection of Indonesian, Thai and other Asian silver and they mostly quite distinctly different.
    The Admiral may well have acquired the set in Thailand as I have acquired most of mine down here in New Zealand.
    Cheers
    John

  2. Muller

    That’s a very concrete statement. It’s so cool. The material, if I can see it, is really interesting. It is very easy to understand your definition. I appreciate your content here, truly.

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