Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

Regimental Interest: A rare Victorian silver Sentry Box Vesta case by Sampson Mordan, 1886, enamelled with an Austrian Tirol Kaiserjäger infantryman, Registered Design No. 38283, maker’s mark ‘S.M’, the London hallmark on lip overstruck with two import marks, possibly French charançon (weevil) mark, (in use between 1864-1893), plus unidentified crosshatched mark, dimensions 60 x 24 x 10mm. £2,000-£3,000

The Kaiserjäger Regiment was formed in 1895 as four infantry regiments within the Common Army of Austria-Hungary. The regiments were disbanded in 1918.


The infantryman, in parade dress, wears a felt hat, with green cord, the Jäger emblem, and adorned with a plume of black rooster feathers. To the left of the hat is positioned the gilt emblem of the hunter’s horn, (the word Jäger translates as ‘hunter’ or ‘huntsman’).