Posted 10 years ago
kivatinitz
(342 items)
Sterling Russian gilt hand engraved set of accessories for the Samovar
The set comprises four pieces
-Tea strainer
-Tea Cady Spoon to measure how many was necessary
- Sugar Tongs
- Fork for the lemon pieces
All are marked with the assayer mark of Anatoliì Apollonovich Artsibashev (P-L# 2125)
Moskow 1895 and silversmith initials IIY cyrilic characters ? ? ? (unidentify), last picture. We bought it several years ago in the original wood case.
In the following site http://spoonplanet.com/russengravedspoons.html there is interesting and amusing information about why the pieces were engraved in that way. “The Russian silversmiths were very prolific and created a wide variety of silver for the table. However, much of the silver created under the czar has been melted down over the years. After the Bolshevik revolution a huge amount of silver was seized and melted into silver bars. In addition, the large spikes in the value of the silver metal also caused a lot of silverware to be melted. At the time in history when these spoons were created, the custom when setting the table was to place the spoon bowl down, thus the backs of the spoons were decorated as that is what the guest would see. The beautiful enamel spoons would be found in the houses of the czar or aristocracy. These silver spoons would be found in the houses of the wealthy merchants” as were probably the Russian jews that take this set with them.
This style of design is generally describe in web auctions as “Art Nouveau” but I do not agree. I think it is an style with reminiscence of Aesthetic or Art and Craft movements. We had never use it.
Absolutely beautiful set kivatinitz, i love them !
Dont think ive got any russian silver !! Yet ;-)
Wonderful set !!!!!
Thanks AGH, Vetraio, surf and Cindy for loves and comments
stunning!!!
thanks Sean