Featured Stunning Russian Import Silver 875 Jardiniere!! Need help with marks.

So I bought this on a whim based off a few photos online, no markings in sight. The price was good enough for me to gamble. When I got it I was shocked.... There were marks for 875 silver with a Russian import mark! The silver alone weighs in at 910 grams and with the bowl it weighs 2116 grams. Handle to handle it is 16 inches! It is massive!! Unfortunately one of the handles came off during transit. It would also appear that it was repaired once before in the past.

With that said I do need some help with the marks though! I would love to know who made it and where it was made. I know it was imported to Russia but I believe it was made somewhere else in Europe. Any insight on this matter would be very much appreciated! Also, does the glass bowl appear to be original? To me it looks like it sits crooked?

Finally, I took this piece to a very reputable silversmith in my city who repairs silver items some of them being very high end for auction houses. He quoted me $330 to properly solder the handle back on, clean all the tarnish off, and heavily antique all of the details. The piece has an interesting color overall. It appears to be even throughout the piece except for the repair area. Would this have been the original color or is it just years of built up tarnish? Should I go ahead with stripping it completely clean and then re antiquing? The silversmith said it would have to be refinished to cover the repairs nicely. It is a wonderful piece and I want to do what is best for it!!

 

Here are the marks, sorry for the long thread! it's just such an amazing piece and i have so many questions about it!

 

looks German crescent moon and crown mark. nonetheless I'd get it properly tested before spending money on it and research German makers for the maker's mark because 875 was not a standard; not excluded though that they used it for export or eventually they had a branch in St.Petersburg or Moskow.

 

German makers had lists of finenesses of other countries, especially for export items. This is one used by Theodor Fahrner:

 

I can't imagine the glass liner is not original to it. Would not call it a jardiniere. Suppose you could use it for a flower arrangement but the handle & glass liner make me think it is table ware.

 

"Jardiniere" is for a potted plant and never has this glass insert arrangement (as mentioned above ^) Looks more like a fruit bowl to me.

 

https://www.google.ch/search?q=anti...=img&ei=_GaxX5zKDo-2a8qFtKAD&bih=535&biw=1184

might be a local thing what to call it.

 

A number of pieces I would not have thought very suitable for plants are being called jardinieres:

http://galerie-vauclair.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Galerie-Vauclair-Aladin-Mai-2017.pdf

Would note that the ones that look like the posted example are symmetrical, with a handle on both sides so you could actually pick them up by the handles. The single handle still makes it look like table ware to me, but maybe it's the exception.

 

The maker would be Gebrüder Deyhle of Schwäbisch Gmünd - personally would call it a jardiniere centerpiece (OP has noted that one of the handles is broken off)...

~Cheryl

 

Thanks for the ID on the mark! That appears to be it!

Would you guys go through with having it repaired, cleaned, and antiqued?

 

What do you mean by "antiqued"?

 

Antiquing is when you darken the silver in the recessed areas of the design. So it makes the details stand out more, the way it was intended to be originally, if that makes sense...

Like this teapot

 

Thanks, I have not heard that term used for that process.

 

WMF calls iz oxidised, marked OX. if you want to do it yourself real quick, then softly blow pure oxygene over the item.

 

I found an interesting tidbit of info on the Russian mark,

"Precious metal goods imported into Russia prior to 1882 were not marked as imports. At first they were left unmarked, later they were submitted for assay and carry an assayer's mark only. Customs brought the imported objects to an assaying office for testing, if the fineness was 84 (875 silver) zolotniki or more the assayer punched his mark, if the fineness was less the import was denied." My assayer is Kliment Zagayevsky represented by the number 3. https://www.925-1000.com/Frussia_kokoshnik_01.html

 

I think most peope call it oxidising, antiqueing seems to be a recent term. It sounds a bit fake to me.
I see the term 'antiqued' mostly on Chinese listings for new oxidised jewellery findings. They clutter my searches for truly antique jewellery.