Conversation Piece In Silver, Mother-of-pearl And Hardstones Depicting A Caricatured Officer

Southern Germany or Austro-Hungarian region, late 19th
Remarkable silver conversation piece depicting a military officer in a ceremonial and caricatured stance, crafted in repoussé and chased silver, featuring a large natural mother-of-pearl shell and numerous polychrome cabochon-set hardstones.
The figure is sculpted in the round and dressed in a Napoleonic-style uniform with crested helmet, fringed epaulettes, and a sword at his side. The torso is formed by a lustrous Haliotis mother-of-pearl shell, adding brilliance and exotic appeal to the piece.
The silver surface is intricately worked and embellished with cabochon-set stones (green, red, blue, turquoise) arranged along the uniform and on the finely chased octagonal base. This object reflects the eclectic and imaginative taste of Mitteleuropean decorative arts between the 19th and 20th centuries and belongs to the tradition of objets de vertu, designed for refined interiors and collectors’ curiosity.
A punched “N” mark may suggest a German or Austro-Hungarian workshop from the late 1800s.