Russian maker of this shot cup?

[SilverK]

Dear forum,

I have another difficult one (at least for me) today, namely this vodka shot cup. Unfortunately, the assay mark was so poorly stamped it is unreadable, though I can just see the top of what I think is an 'A' on the top right, giving a clue to the assayer's name. The maker, from Moscow, is 'AA', but the mark is smudged, so I'm not sure whether there's a bullet along the base line between the As. Is anyone able to identify the assayer and the maker, with a potential range of dates? Finally has anyone any idea of the place in the scene, or would this be generic?

Many thanks for any help,

Silverk.

[Goldstein]

Hi SilverK -

the maker is probably Aleksandrov, Andrej A. 1879-1917. He is known for his Niello (see red arrow).
Please note the cut corners of his punch!

Timeframe see above. Sujet: rural or architectural phantasy scenes.
A better example!

Regards
Goldstein

[AG2012]

Hi,
``AA`` top : Андрей Александров (Andrey Alexandrov)
bottom: Александр Афанасьев (Alexandr Afanasyev).

Both in Postnikova under ``AA`` Overlapping years.
Letter A could be letter Д (less probably).
Regards

[SilverK]

That's splendid! Many thanks to you both for your responses and for your pictures. To me Andrej Aleksandrov looks the closer of the two.

With regards to the assay mark, given the teaser of an 'A' in the top right hand corner would I be right in saying that the assayer was Anatoly Apollonovich Artsybashev and therefore this would have been made between 1888 and 1898? Also, if you look carefully, you can just see the edge of a number in the bottom right hand corner, its curves suggesting a 3 or an 8.

Regards,

Silverk.

[Qrt.S]

Sorry SilverK, I disagree regarding the years and assayer as well. Look at the "84". It has no notches. The notches appear after 1882->. That means that your "stopka" (vodka cup) is made before 1882. Therefore the assayer cannot be Artsibachev. The assaying mark is so unclear that is impossible to say with certainty who it is, Avdeyev, Avilov...or?

[SilverK]

..and it was all going so well, at least I thought it was! However, I'd much rather have no attribution than an incorrect one.

Maybe there's further inspiration out there....

Thanks anyway.

Silverk.

[Traintime]

Given assay mark exact shape and detail, location, & date constraint (pre-1882) combined with the letter spacing from the upper right corner..then Konstantinov seems the most likely fit by process of elimination, even if the letter looks more like an "A" than a "K".

[Qrt.S]

The Summer is over more time for this....
Nonetheless, my guess is that the master is Aleksandr Afanasyev 1859-1884. You see Aleksandrov's working period was 1879-1917 and as already mentioned there are no notches on the year mark. That gives us a time span from 1879 to 1882. What bothers me, however, is the town mark of Moscow. It looks (please note looks!) to be from an earlier period i.e. mid 19th century. There we have the above mentioned Afanasyev, but.....?

The assayer¨s name is much more difficult. He could be either of the Savinsky brothers or Ivukov, Avilov, Avdeyev, Svechin, etc....? Konstantinov (1874-1883) is too late in my opinion. Anyway, the assayer is of less importance. He hasn't made the stopka but only officially verified its fineness.

Speculations and guesses due to unclear marks...A difficult case I would say, with many possible answers.