Russian Cloisonne Cigarette Box...anyone know the maker?

It was sold to me as Ivan Andreyevich...is this correct?
Thanks!

 

Let's see if this will copy over. Next entry on page says in 1927 a hammer was added, so mark gives a time frame:

Since 1908, new hallmarks with the image of a female head in a kokoshnik are entered on all assay districts, the head facing right, accompanied letter of the Greek alphabet -various for every assay districts. Zolotnik marks- no changes.

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The seller of this basket asserts the mark is for Andreyevich. The woman facing the other way is just an earlier version of the assay mark:

 

Rarely comment on Russian silver because it's a complicated field where I'm not qualified, and just filled with fakes, some fairly decent and some really dreadful. Looking at the cloisonne work on this piece should be enough to discount it as being genuine regardless of marks (which don't look 'right' either)...

~Cheryl

 

In scouting for cameos, I sometimes come across cameos represented as having belonged to the Romanovs, such as this one, seller says has been examined by museum experts & determined to be 'bone', over 200 years old, unique, which can be yours for a mere $59,999.99.



It is a lava cameo of Peter Paul Rubens - famous artists were a popular lava theme - no earlier than 1880, with a significant crack. Someone's souvenir of a trip to Naples/Pompeii. Catherine the Great's passion for engraved gems is famous. She & her heirs would not have looked twice at something like this.

 

Looks Caucasian, like Dagestan.

 

Thanks all. Cheryl, are you sure it's not genuine? It's aged very badly.

 

Eh, like I said, Russian silver is complicated, I only have a few references, with no real time for or interest in delving deeply into it - and while I've run across quite a bit over the years, the majority were fakes.

So far as I know 'Ivan Andreyevich Ado' was the assay-master in Kazan, 1899-1916; the punch isn't well-cut, so not sure if your maker's mark is 'ИА' (IA) or 'НА' (NA), the kokoshnik indicates assay in Moscow, so there could be a few possibilities with either, and frankly, even experts have disagreements about attribution on some marks. What is truly bothersome about this piece is the quality of the work - everything about it is sloppy, the enamel work should be smoothly integrated, this looks like someone just slapped the cloisonne onto an existing case, which may have some age, and may or may not be Russian (matching marks should be on both sides of the case). If you look at the edges of the cloisonne, it doesn't even follow the curves of the case, two of the corners are almost square, the small round 'beaded' border cloisons vary in size and spacing, with many misshapen, as are other elements of the design; the wires are not uniform or as carefully applied as they should be, and the enamel is just messy, with the cells very unevenly filled, the color executed gloppily (for lack of a better term) and with an odd muddiness in tone.

This link shows some cigarette cases of the same era, believe comparison will illustrate the issues with yours: http://925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=48403&sid=e9100c159f9c4872f4aca41e7b1340d4

~Cheryl

 

I think I understand. Thanks so much for your detailed reply, Cheryl as well as the link. I appreciate it very much!