We are so brand conscious today that it’s easy to forget that until fairly recently, most items bore no maker’s name at all. Because of export and import rules, gold and silver was hallmarked as to location, metal content and usually maker’s mark (with initials or a symbol) but the names of so many of those makers were lost.

Here is an anonymous but utterly charming pin from early in the last century (I would put it at about 1920s). It is made of sterling silver, clear paste  (AKA glass) stones, and enamel where the collar and tongue are. It’s quite small, maybe about an inch long, but even in this tiny space the maker gave a sense of the movement and energy of the dog (who looks quite eerily like my Wheaten Terrier, also known as the Wheaten Terror for his ability to eat everything from leather to electronics). You can almost feel him hunting his next bone. Or (shudder) Iphone.

This piece doesn’t need a maker’s name or precious metals to be be quite wonderful all on its own.