Porteño mate with three legs.

Hallmark: F. Odorisio. Buenos Aires. Late 19th or early 20th century.

The ovoid-shaped vessel, with its raised rim, rests on three legs adorned with scrolls and chased leaves, which in turn rest on a small sphere. The goldsmith decorated both halves of the bowl with fine chased work, and in the center, framed by plain borders, applied a half-round molding with a floral design. The piece is accompanied by a bombilla (straw) with a gold mouthpiece.

Measurements: Mate gourd. Height: 13 cm. Weight: 131 g. Bombilla. Length: 17.5 cm. Weight: 54 g.

Federico Odorisio (1) was mentioned as a jewelry and silversmith in Buenos Aires, at 296 Paraná Street, according to Kunz's Guide of 1885. He also appears in other records from 1894 until the first decades of the 20th century. In 1908, he was identified with a watchmaking business called Felipe Odorisio y Hnos.

The José Hernández Museum houses two knives and a rastra (a type of belt) attributed to him, formerly in the Carlos Daws collection. Ribera, in his Dictionary of Goldsmiths, mentions only one rastra in the shape of a horse bearing his mark, which was auctioned in Buenos Aires in 1972.

Note: 

1. As indicated in the work “Punzones en la silverría criolla del Museo José Hernández” (Hallmarks on Creole Silverware in the José Hernández Museum), pp. 87-88, his surname was spelled with a z in this guide, although in later references it appears with an s, as found on this hallmark, identical to the one reproduced in the aforementioned inventory of hallmarks.