Lot 0180
Russian Silver Card Case (Visiting Card Holder), Moscow, 1908–1917
Estimate: 400-500€
Silver card case (Visiting Card Holder) in Art-Noveau style.
Moscow, Ivan Tarabrov, 1908–1917.
Silver; chasing.
Size: 6.2 × 10.1 cm. Weight: 71 g.
Marks: maker’s mark “IT» in triangle, Moscow assay mark 1908-1917.
A restrained, elegantly proportioned card case exemplifying the sober refinement of Moscow Art Nouveau. The design relies on pure geometry and impeccable finishing rather than ornament: broad, smoothly polished planes catch and modulate light, turning the silver surface itself into the principal decorative element.
Ivan Filippovich Tarabrov operated a workshop (later a factory) of gold and silver objects in Moscow (1893–1917), based in his own house on Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya Street. By the late 1890s his enterprise ranked among the city’s leading jewellery manufacturers, employing dozens of craftsmen and producing a substantial annual output.
Starting price: 300€
Estimate: 400-500€
Hammer Price: €
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Lot 0178
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Dimensions of the box: 20.5 × 27 × 4.5 cm
The set was retailed in a jewelry shop in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia, reflecting the wide distribution of Russian luxury silverware throughout the Empire.Starting price: 600€
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Lot 0179
An unusual Russian silver advertising snuff box with en plein enamel panels
Estimate: 2500-3500€
Lot 0179
An unusual Russian silver advertising snuff box with en plein enamel panels
Estimate: 2500-3500€An unusual Russian silver advertising snuff box with en plein enamel panels.
St Petersburg, workshop of Ivan Savelyevich Britsyn, circa 1908-1917.
Silver, enamel; painted en plein enamel, gilding.
Weight: 194 g.
Dimensions: 11.4 x 4.2 x 4.2 cm.
Marks: maker’s mark of Ivan Britsyn, “И.Б.”; Petersburg silver assay mark, 91 zolotnik standard.
This rare advertising snuff box is executed in the form of a tall rectangular case with rounded corners and a fitted cover.
The principal plaque is painted in polychrome enamel and bears the inscription “Essence de fleurs / Violette d’Antibes / Laboratoire Chimique de St Pétersbourg”. The composition combines a picturesque coastal view, sprays of violets, and a heraldic shield. The reverse is decorated with a second enamel panel in the form of a stamp-like label reading “С.-Петербургская Химическая Лаборатория” (“St Petersburg Chemical Laboratory”).
The box was made in the workshop of Ivan Savelyevich Britsyn (1870-1952), a notable St Petersburg jeweller and enameller. Born into a peasant family from Moscow province, Britsyn trained in the workshop of Carl Fabergé and in 1903 passed the examination for the title of master of the silver trade at the St Petersburg Craft Administration. He subsequently established his own workshop, later known as “Russian Enamel”, producing snuff boxes, cigarette cases, desk clocks, cufflinks, buckles, and other luxury objects. From 1909 he participated in exhibitions, including international ones, and eventually became a Supplier to the Imperial Court. After the Revolution he continued to work independently until 1924, later joining cooperative and factory production.Starting price: 2000€
Estimate: 2500-3500€
Hammer Price: € -
Lot 0181
Fabergé Silver-Gilt Centrepiece Vase in the Neo-Classical Style, Moscow, 1908–1917
Estimate: 18000-22000€
Lot 0181
Fabergé Silver-Gilt Centrepiece Vase in the Neo-Classical Style, Moscow, 1908–1917
Estimate: 18000-22000€Fabergé. A silver-gilt centrepiece vase in the Neo-Classical style
Fabergé Firm, 1908-1917
Silver, gilding, cast, engraving, chased.
Marked: Fabergé in Cyrillic; 84 standard silver mark; Moscow assay mark. Total weight: 1288 g. Dimensions: 16,5 x 31 x 23,8 cm.
This elegant silver-gilt centrepiece vase, formed and decorated in the Neo-Classical taste. Of shallow circular form, it is raised on a spreading pedestal foot enriched with fluting and meandr border. The rim is encircled by delicate bands of stylised laurel ornament, withe attenuated loop handles formed with eagles heads. The gilt interior provides a luminous contrast to the restrained silver exterior.
The design belongs to the historicising classicism that remained highly popular in Russian decorative art at the turn of the twentieth century. Its measured proportions, controlled ornament, and reference to antique and Empire-derived forms place the object within the tradition of luxury table wares intended for formal domestic or ceremonial display.
The bowl was produced by the Moscow branch of Fabergé, which began operating in 1887 with a workshop and shop on Kuznetsky Most. In 1890 the firm acquired a silver factory formerly owned by the Finnish merchant Christian Lindroos, and by 1891 production was established under Fabergé’s own name. The factory was subsequently modernised with new presses, machinery, and electrification, under the direction of Mikhail Moiseevich Chepurnov. As Franz Birbaum later recalled, while the St Petersburg workshops excelled in jewellery and enamels, the Moscow factory became especially renowned for its large-scale silver production; from about 1900, major silver wares were executed there. Objects from the Moscow branch are comparatively rare today, as large quantities of stock remaining after the Revolution were confiscated in 1919, and only a limited number of pieces have since reappeared on the art market.Starting price: 15000€
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Lot 0182
Russian Silver Tea Caddy in Oriental Style, I. P. Khlebnikov, Moscow, late 19th century
Estimate: 900-1000€
Lot 0182
Russian Silver Tea Caddy in Oriental Style, I. P. Khlebnikov, Moscow, late 19th century
Estimate: 900-1000€A Russian Tea Caddy in oriental style
Moscow, firm of I. P. Khlebnikov, late 19th century
Silver; engraved, gilding.
Dimensions: 10.7 × 8.9 × 8.9 cm. Weight 376 g. Marks: stamped on the underside with the firm’s mark “Khlebnikov” under the Imperial warrant, 84 zolotnik silver standard, Moscow assay mark. A finely proportioned silver tea caddy of hexagonal form, rising to a faceted shoulder and a circular neck with a fitted lid. The surface is enriched with delicately engraved floral sprays, roses, butterflies, and a dragonfly, while the lid is centred with a luxuriant bouquet framed by beaded borders.
Tea caddies of this type were intended for the storage of loose-leaf tea and belong to the elegant culture of the Russian tea table in the second half of the 19th century. The present example was produced by the honorable Moscow firm of Ivan Petrovich Khlebnikov, one of the most distinguished Russian silversmithing houses of the Imperial period. Founded in 1871, the firm gained wide renown for the quality of its gold and silver wares, received numerous awards at Russian and international exhibitions, and held the title of Supplier to the Imperial Court. Although especially admired for works in the neo-Russian taste, Khlebnikov’s workshop also excelled in objects of refined domestic silver such as the present caddy.Starting price: 800€
Estimate: 900-1000€
Hammer Price: €