Rare Russian Enamel Snuff Box, Moscow 1915
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A rare Russian silver-gilt 88 enamel snuff box, 3rd Artel, Moscow, circa 1915, of rectangular form, the hinged cover with a cartouche of painted flowers, bordered with varicolour stylized foliate and geometric motifs together with scrolls, floriate and foliate decoration to the sides. The gilded interior bearing 3rd Artel and kokoshnik hallmarks, 48gms total weight, 1.5 cm high, 5 cm wide, 3 cm deep. Provenance: The collection was forged with the vendor's great grandfather, who was a Russian Silversmith in Moscow and immigrated to Italy around 1895. The majority of his collection consisted of pieces he had been gifted or collected from other silversmiths. The collection was passed to the vendor's grandfather who immigrated to Australia in 1923 and hence by descent to the current owner.
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- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today. - Cartouche - An ornamental panel in the form of of a shield, oval or rectangular scroll with curling edges. It may be carved into the back of a chair or the top of a sideboard, or present on a piece of silver or jewellery, and contain the initials of the original owner, heraldic symbols, or some other inscription, such as the details of a presentation.
In ceramics the term defines the central area of a vase or similar with a decorative border in one of the shapes above, into which a decorative scene or figures have been painted.
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