Russian Silver Judaica - Fake or Genuine?
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:49 pm
Hi there.
I stumbled upon this site a few days ago and thought it was an ideal time to ask those more knowledgable than me about the authenticity or otherwise of 2 pieces of Russian Silver I purchased about 10 years ago on a visit to Warsaw....
The first item is a silver 'yad' or pointer that was used for reading the scroll of the Law in a synagogue. The second item is a silver 'buckle' that would have originally held some kind of cloth belt to wrap around the scroll to hold it tight.
My worry is that already 10 years ago at the Warsaw market there was a lot of fake judaica on sale. I saw many silver pointers, usually looking brand new and mass-produced, but the 2 items I bought were 'one-offs' and do appear to show signs of wear.
The pointer has a hallmark with year 1895 and the letters "AC" (so AS in English). The town mark appears to be either Vilnius or Moscow. Although the rider and horse are facing left and that COULD be Moscow 1895 I suspect it is Vilnius as I would expect far more Judaica from there in the 1890s than Moscow.
Here are some photos of the pointer:
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00893.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00894.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00895.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00896.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00898.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00899.jpg
(admin photo edit - images too large - link only - see Posting Requirements )
(admin edit - only one item per topic - please start a new topic with your other item)
Many thanks for any assistance!
Michael
I stumbled upon this site a few days ago and thought it was an ideal time to ask those more knowledgable than me about the authenticity or otherwise of 2 pieces of Russian Silver I purchased about 10 years ago on a visit to Warsaw....
The first item is a silver 'yad' or pointer that was used for reading the scroll of the Law in a synagogue. The second item is a silver 'buckle' that would have originally held some kind of cloth belt to wrap around the scroll to hold it tight.
My worry is that already 10 years ago at the Warsaw market there was a lot of fake judaica on sale. I saw many silver pointers, usually looking brand new and mass-produced, but the 2 items I bought were 'one-offs' and do appear to show signs of wear.
The pointer has a hallmark with year 1895 and the letters "AC" (so AS in English). The town mark appears to be either Vilnius or Moscow. Although the rider and horse are facing left and that COULD be Moscow 1895 I suspect it is Vilnius as I would expect far more Judaica from there in the 1890s than Moscow.
Here are some photos of the pointer:
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00893.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00894.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00895.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00896.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00898.jpg
http://bizdirs.from-mt.com/glasgow/dsc00899.jpg
(admin photo edit - images too large - link only - see Posting Requirements )
(admin edit - only one item per topic - please start a new topic with your other item)
Many thanks for any assistance!
Michael