www.925-1000.com

I posted this item just before the loss of data.

http://s1102.photobucket.com/albums/g441/ragnarr8118/?action=view&current=RussianSilver005-Copy.jpg&newest=1

http://s1102.photobucket.com/albums/g441/ragnarr8118/?action=view&current=RussianSilver003-Copy-Copy.jpg&newest=1

Assayer AF (cyrillic)

St Petersberg 1883

84 zol

Trying to find the maker - JAL

Hi -
I have written all this before - but there have been some data problems with the site. Here you go again:
In my opinion the shown sifter is of contemporary make because the form and the design is not typical Russian - see photos.
Next, the known maker JAL (his name is until today not known or is lost) worked in St. Petersburg in the years 1868 - 1881 (spoons, knives etc.), but the sifter was assayed in 1883! Some discrepancies...

Original sifter (made of 2 parts):





Your shown sifter (made of 3-4 parts):



Regards
Zolotnik

Thanks Zolotnik

Does contemporary mean it's a fake or just an item cobbled together from other items?

Viewed from the rear the handle has a flat back and could have been stamped from a single blank.

Front

http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g441/ragnarr8118/RussianSilver003-Copy-Copy.jpg

Back

http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g441/ragnarr8118/RussianSilver006.jpg

However the date discrepancy does seem to point to a 'wrongun'

Thanks again for your time and trouble

Appreciated

Ragnarr

Hi -
with the new photo, showing the backside - my concernes are gone. The sifter looks absolutely right - the time discrepancies are possible - sometimes exact dates are missing or get lost. The maker is known, I have seen many, many objects from him, mostly flatwares. It is no fake.

Good and detailed photos make everything easy!

Regards and congratulations

Zolotnik

Hello Zolotnik

Thanks for your prompt reply.

It's nice to know that the item is not a fake.

By the way, your thread on Russian spoons is superb.

Again, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Regards

Ragnarr

Hi!

I consider it to be a tea strainer as these hade typically small round drilled holes in comparision to sugar shifters which had different kinds of patterns with the holes. The assayer was Alexandr Frans van der Filt and he was working in St.Petersburg from 1881 (82) until 1894.

The style is typical for the last quarter of the 19th century with balluster type of stems. The same decorations were used on for instance tea pots with balluster type of knobs etc and this tea strainer has originally been part of a tea set with sugar tongs, citron fork, etc.

Regards,
Juke

Hello Juke

Thanks for the additional information which confirms Zolotnik's appraisal of the item.

Although your interpretation of its use differs to Zolotnik's.

I'm more than happy to go with tea strainer and I like the idea of balluster forms.

Thanks again for taking the time to expand on Zolotnik's in depth knowledge of Russian silver.

Regards and thank you

Ragnarr

Hi all -

I never know exactly when a tea strainer is a sugar sifter and vice versa. Sometimes the spoons with bigger holes are strainers, the spoons with smaller holes sifter. I do not think that sugar sifters were very common in Russia - like in Europe. Maybe someone can educate me....

Regards
Zolotnik

Take a look at this thread viewtopic.php?f=46&t=26288

Hi Qrt.S,

Your link does not work!

Regards,

Oel

The link to Qrt.S's excellent post is now fixed.

Trev.

Thank you Trev. sorry for the mess with the link. Please read the continuing part in the other thread. And Trev. , if you don't mind, kindly fix the headline too. It should read "strainer" not "stariner" (my typo), Thank you in advance.