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Hi! The clock have a nice appearance of a Russian clock from the end of the 19th century with a good quality. The carvings and enamel looks nice what one would expect from the time of period. I think the main question for many is why the makers mark can not be found in well known catalogs from where...

I believe the engraving has probably been made later (as a gift) and would thereby not have been on the original spoon. The spoon could be of Russian/Eastern European origin but I would consider it not to be by the Hlebnikov firm. As said the marking is in my opinion with the biggest question marks,...

Hi! A nice tea caddy set spoon with a good quality champlevé enameling silver. The spoon seem to have the marking of the famous Hlebnikov firm with the ИX marking. In my opinion there are a few issues with the marking which don't seem to look correct and even the enameling work has some question mar...

I don't think that at this time the Aldermans have already started to put their brands. The shape of the master's stamp is not uncommon. This is a good point and it is true that the alderman marking would have started first after the mid 18th century so this can be the reason. Also can be noted tha...

Do you think that alderman mark is is mandatory? I can see many examples where there are only 3 marks: City mark, assay mark, and maker. To my experience the alderman mark is expected to be there as he was responsible for ensuring and probing the silver content for the guild. He was the eldest in t...

I think this is a tricky one, the heart shaped mark could of course be a makers mark, then there would be missing the alderman mark, then of course it could have been worn out. As the makers mark is missing from several of the known catalogs is a rare issue, of course it could be a totally unknown m...

Just to add that the assay master is Aleksei Ivanov Vikhljajev (1781-1809). The silversmith is unknown to me.

Just noted that on the other chandelier there is a 'L' with the '13' silver content marks. Thereby I think these 'F' and 'L' marks are just for ensuring which pairs belongs together? I therefore understand well that it might be difficult to pinpoint from which German city they would be from. My ques...

Hi! A pair of chandeliers with a height of 58 cm and from the mid 19th century. There are two marks with the '13' silver content mark and a 'F' mark which I think could be the makers mark. As there are only these marks I was thinking they would probably be German due to the varying assay system in t...

I fully see and understand AG's concern especially for the second set of marks. However I would like to see the marks cleaned and then sharp closeup of them to see how they look and how they are made. There are rests of polishing paste which needs to be cleaned to have a clear view.

Hi!

Could you clean the marks thoroughly and take a closeup photo. I would be interested to see the marks very clearly.

Regards,
Juke

As the initials are clearly ИA and ИХ I believe Mart gave the answer so the firm Hlebnikov has retailed the spoons (thereby their overstruck) and the best candidate as the subcontractor is Ivan Andreev (Matryona Andreeva's husband) or perhaps Ivan Alexandrov. If there are no other candidates suggest...

There are different types of real Fabergé marks which this one is with the simplified double eagle. Other ones are with a more elaborate double eagle. Fabergé marks are always tricky as there is the value issue. Other opinions are always good to hear if there are additional thoughts. The one thing i...

Hi!

In my opinion a genuine piece. I don't see any faults in the markings which would indicate something else. Nice genuine Fabergé piece with a simple design.

Regards,
Juke

Quite right, Qrt.S is correct. I just checked the masters from Ivanov without thinking of the town, should have used also the PL for reaffirmation. Anyway Ivan Alexeev worked in Moscow so could be him for ИA. Could not find a master with ИХ in Moscow. Helpful would of course be better pictures of th...

The best candidate for ИA would be Ivan Mikhailovich Aksenov who worked from 1871 onward. A second candidate is Ivan Alexeev mentioned to have started in 1874 (1876). There is a good possibility that the spoons with the mark ИХ are by Ivan Hlebnikov as they are from the period before the court suppl...

Hi! It is not uncommon the silversmiths to be different in a set so sometimes subcontractors have been used to create a set. If the assayer years would be different then it is typical that a set have been upgraded with new spoons. A tea spoon is longer and bigger than a coffee spoon so these seem to...

Hi! In my experience due to the hundreds and thousands of polishing the marks tend to flatten to some kind of missformed numbers like pancake which is the case here so they don't resemble so well the original markings. This is very typical especially on flatware. Thereby in my opinion i don't see an...

Hi, I have a high reservation of any royal provenience. If there is no information of the provenience then the monogram with the crown is a later addition to add value to the item (russification). The quality of the ink set is low including the question if the ink stand is even of silver purity. I w...

Hi!

As notified in the Russian silver section this family crest is by the famous Tolstoy family which was dedicated the title of count.



Regards,
Juke