Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

[JWK]

Hi all,
found another one for your perusal:

Ice tongs in trompe l'oeil basket weave pattern:


length just over 5 inches



Marked inside the top (and thus almost impossible to photograph):


Assayer Nikolay Nikolayevich Korbitsky (1886-1887 http://www.925-1000.com/Frussia_assay_02.html )
Moscow townmark

But who's the maker? "AK"?


JW

[silverfan]

The item looks more like a sugar tongs!? How Long?
Regards silverfan

[JWK]

14 cms.
I was told these were ice tongs because of the ribbed surface of the tips, sugar tongs are smooth.

JW

[Qrt.S]

Ice-tongs weren't even invented at that time. It is an ordinary sugar-tong made by a master unfortunately unknown to name.

[silverfan]

maker is most probably Antip Ivanovic Kuzmichev.
Regards silverfan

[Ubaranda]

Hello!

The assayer НК is not Nikolay Korbitsky. It is a mistake in the catalog of Postnikova-Loseva. He is Nikolay Vasilyevich Kulakov (Николай Васильевич Кулаков) - the assistant manager of Moscow assay office.
See my pictures and see the topic http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 24&t=42023

Best regards.

[Goldstein]

Hi JW -

Objects of Kuzmitschev A. I. are the most common silver items which can be found - so it is probably him as silverfan stated. The assayer is already corrected by Ubaranda.
Ice cube-tongs were also already in use - but twice the size of sugar-tongs. See catalogues of Fabergé, Khlebnikov, Gratschev and others.

Fabergé catalogue from 1893


ice cube-tongs


sugar-tongs


A small collection of Russian sugar-tongs and the possible diversity


Regards
Goldstein

[JWK]

All: thanks very very much for your contributions!

If I may recap:
Maker: (probably) Antip Ivanovic Kuzmichev
Assayer: Nikolay Vasilyevich Kulakov (Николай Васильевич Кулаков)
And they're sugar tongs (which is what I use them for actually, not daily but regularly. They work wonderful with olives as well!)

Many thanks!
JW