Wow, what a fascinating brooch! I know I’m late to the party here, but it looks to date from about 1850-1890, based on the construction of the pinback hinge and catch. Looks like there’s a number on the back – 850, maybe? If so, it may be a silver purity stamp, stating the parts per 1000 of silver in the alloy. (Sterling silver is 925/1000, 92.5% silver.)
http://www.germaniainternational.com/images/stickpincruisernurnberg02.jpg
This is a similar female form with eagles wings and talons from the cruiser Nurnberg !! Your pin looks like a ladies broach in style but can not be sure. Perhaps the owners husband was on the cruiser ?? When you click on the link,use the back arrow to read what is written !!
Thanks, Martha. Your post led me to search for Nurnberg harpy. Apparently, the harpy pictured — very similar to mine — was associated with the city of Nurnberg.
http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=N%C3%BCrnberg
Still working on my pin, but at least I have a city now.
Thanks!
It says SILBER 0.990, so I was at least confident about the silver part. Thanks for the information about the hinge and catch. I picked it up at a street sale in NYC over 30 years ago and have loved it ever since. Just figured I’d try and find out something about it now that answers are usually just a click of the mouse away.