Superb gilded silver and guilloche enamel lady's cigarette case, made in St. Petersburg between 1908 and 1917, by the 3rd Jewelers Artel (cooperative), engraved with a wave pattern and covered with beautiful translucent pink enamel of very high quality. 2 1/4 x 3 9/16 in. (5,6 x 9 cm).
According to the recently published "Gold and Silversmiths in Russia 1600-1926", the 3rd Jewelers Artel (Nr. 4208 in the book) headed by Vasily Nikolaevich Ivanov, worked for the Faberge atelier. Artel was located at 48 Ekaterininsky Canal in St. Petersburg.
The 3rd Artel is also mentioned in the 1983 exhibition catalog "FABERGE" by A La Vieille Russie, as an independent cooperative of jewelers which did work for Faberge (page 151).
Very little is currently known about the 3rd Artel, but almost certainly, it was established not earlier than 1908. The Artel mainly produced high quality guilloche enamel objects like bellpushes, boxes, cigarette cases, and frames. Apparently, the 3rd Artel (similar to the 1st Silver Artel) retailed most of its pieces through the firm of Faberge.
Enamel is in exceptional condition.
$29,000.00
The thumbpiece is set with rose-cut diamonds.
Marked with 88 zolotnik standard (916 silver) and '3rdA' (in Cyrillic characters).
Faint traces of erased engraving on the reverse of the cover.
Copyright © 1998-2007 RomanovRussia.com All Rights Reserved