A handle for a lady's riding crop

[Atlas]

I would like to have your opinion regarding this handle for a lady's riding crop in the photos below if you please.


(...quite nice details, the inlaid jewels ( 3 x sapphires, 2 x rubies, 2 x diamonds = are real ones ) . )


It has had replaced it's original cane-part or what should I call it?
Should I...
1) leave it as is.
2) Try to find somewhere a assumed similar cane from that time period that is made and have it then replaced.
3) Have it separated from the present cane and leave then to that status.
4)...or feel free to suggest how should I proceed with this case.
Thank you in advance,
- Atlas -

[Qrt.S]

Let's start with the marks on the crutch. The hallmark tells us that it is made in St Petersburg before 1882. Then the maker's mark SA with serif fonts tells us that the name of the master is Samuel Arndt. He was born 19.4.1812 and became master 1845. He had his workshop on Gorohovaja Uliza in Arndt's house. He was a subcontractor to Nichols & Plinke. In 1845 he married Sophia Elisabeth Tegelsten. She was born 17.10 1826 in St Peterburg. Samuel Arndt passed away 2.4.1890. A perfect match!

Then the next question. How do you know the stick is replaced? If it is, when did that happen, "yesterday" or in the 19th century or? This is a crucial question because if it is replaced 100 years ago, it is not a good idea to do something to it. But if it is currently replaced you could try to find a replacement from the period and replace it. I believe that it could be a difficult job to find one and therefore my suggestion is that leave it as it is.

[AG2012]

Hi,
Samuel Arndt.
Everything else is replaced.
Regards

[AG2012]

Btw.Jewelled handle does not fit to English riding crops It was not meant to be used on horses but to keep dogs off hoofs.Commonly seen antler handle was used to open gates without dismounting the horse.

[Goldstein]

Hi Atlas -

I assume that you know that Samuel Arndt was a jeweler and not a silversmith! His mark PL # 1843 looks strikingly different.
A riding crop was used to restrain the horse, dogs, etc. - not to demonstrate your wealth.
Worldwide riding crops look more or less like that:

Your "riding crop" look like that because in a former life it was a walking cane. You need the larger space to grip the handle while walking.

I hope you let some gemmnologe check the stones (fixing stones in silver is unacceptable for a jeweler!) for colour, quality, provenience, cut, DNA etc.
A silver content check would not hurt also - I doubt it is 875 Zolotniki!

Regards
Goldstein

[AG2012]

Parasol handle makes sense, too.

[Goldstein]

Hi AG2012 -

Parasol handle makes sense, too.

for a body builder - yes
for a lady - no




Regards
Goldstein

sourcre: umbrella collection

[AG2012]

No dimensions are given.

[Atlas]

I will measure and post the dimensions tomorrow.
Regards,
- Atlas -

[AG2012]

Images are deleted. Was it given to a goldsmith ?
Could not see properly the machine from all sides but it looks like hand operated jeweller`s and silversmith`s wire and sheet rolling (wire drawing) machine. It`s called Goldschmiedewalze in German.
The man at the anvil is hammering gold ingot to fit into the machine and then gradually flattened to desired thickness or wire drawn.

[AG2012]

Samuel Arnd was mentioned here.

A few interesting facts from Lilya Kuznetsova: ``Jewelers in St.Petersburg - 19th and beginning 20th century - dynasties of famous jewellers in Imperial Russia``.

ЛИЛИЯ КУЗНЕЦОВА - ПЕТЕРБУРГСКИЕ ЮВЕЛИРЫ XIX - НАЧАЛА XX В. ДИНАСТИИ ЗНАМЕНИТЫХ МАСТЕРОВ ИМПЕРАТОРСКОЙ РОССИИ

Johann-Martin Arndt came to St. Petersburg in 1793.
Johann-Helvig and Johann-Samuel Arndt (born in Hanau) appeared in St. Petersburg in 1803.
Their family relation remains unclear, the latter two possibly brothers.
Both entered the guild of foreign goldsmiths, and to avoid confusion with Johann-Martin Arndt, they removed the last letter "T" from their last name and turned into Arnd.
Johann-Samuel Arnd was born April 19, 1812. He entered the guild in 1845 and in the same year married Sofia-Elizabeth (Sofia Karpovna) Tegelsten (Тегельстен).

Samuel and brother Karl owned 25 apartments in 4, Gorokhovaya Street,mostly consisting of two or five rooms. In 1877 Samuel became the sole owner of the house.
Two sons Gustav and Ernst continued father`s trade and entered the guild.
Johann-Samuel Arnd died on April 2, 1890. His widow was still the owner of the house in 1903. But it gradually fell into decay, because neither Gustav nor Ernst Arnd could withstand the competition.

(Curiously, they are not mentioned elsewhere).

[Qrt.S]

(Curiously, they are not mentioned elsewhere).

@AG2012

Yes, they are all listed in Leonard Bäcksbacka's bok: St. Petersburgs juvelerare, guld- och silversmeder 1714-1870, published 1951 in Helsinki. There is written a bit more about their life (not much or essential to add).

[Atlas]

Hello,

The dimensions:

Maximal height 63mm
Maximal width 46mm
Inner width 24mm (, which was marked by Goldstein with red arrows. )

Total length of the object circa. 50,5cm.

[Atlas]

[AG2012]

Manipulated the image to get real dimensions of 63 mm length.
If really this small it`s jewellery.
'Posy holder' or 'Tussie mussie'.

http://www.silvercollection.it/posyholderr.html

[Goldstein]

Hi Atlas --

I do not quite understand why the necessary informations are only given piecemeal.
Facts: the metal part is silver of unknown silver content. It should be tested!
The maker´s mark is strikingly different from the known marks!
No assayer´s mark!
Quality and cut of the gems? Is the cut modern or time correct? The diamonds are the give away!
The fixing of precious stones (3 sapphires, 2 rubies, 2 diamonds) in silver in the shown form is not professional for a jeweler!
If it was a 'Posy holder' or 'Tussie mussie', someone manipulated a lot to create a Russian object.
In my eyes total sensless.
Check the inconsistencies and you will see what you have...

Regards
Goldstein

[Qrt.S]

@Goldstein
Take a new look on the first picture. There is a clear St Petersburg hallmark from the period before 1882 (a dvoinik). In addition, the maker's mark matches quite well Samuel Arnd's punch.

[Goldstein]

Hi -

....yes, only the dot between S and A is missing...

just show some photos of authentic objects!

Regards
Goldstein

[Qrt.S]

Yes, the dot is missing, but you know very well, that punches could broke, are renewed and the master might have also redesigned his punches and "modernized" them. Hardly any master had only one punch. Anyway, a minor problem is the gems, what are they?

[Goldstein]

Hi -

Yes, the dot is missing, but you know very well, that punches could broke, are renewed and the master might have also redesigned his punches and "modernized" them. Hardly any master had only one punch.

In other words: marks are not relevant - maybe they were just lately redesigned....

Let´s sum up what is suspicious and should be cleared:
1) The mark - is OK - see above.....
2) The silver content 84 Zolotniki? - I think it is European...
3) The gemstones - are they genuin and the cut time correct? Are they genuin but the cut not time correct? Are they coloured glass imitations?
4) Why are the gemstones inexpertly fixed? By a wellknown jeweler....
5) Why are the horseshoes and the shoeing European style and not Russian style?

Here some real, authentic Russian jewel fixings to compare:




And now compare: