I have recently been lucky enough to find this very old and beautiful charm, depicting Italy’s Venetian Lion of Saint Mark. It’s .800 silver with intricately detailed hand painted rebus enamel and is gilded. On the back the date of 1-4 Mai 1893 is inscribed. It’s most likely to be German made, especially given the spelling of the month of May. I’ve been unable to find any information about the specific date range so conclude it may have been of personal/family significance, rather than national.
The Lion of Saint Mark is the symbol of the Italian city of Venice. It is pictured on both the merchant and military naval flags of the Italian Republic. This winged lion symbol is also the image of the Venice Film Festival award, known as the Golden Lion.
"Skibsflaget fra Mariakirken i Lübeck" Illustration by Professor Julius Magnus Petersen (4 Sep 1827 – 1 Feb 1917).