RARE ANTIQUE RUSSIAN SILVER NIELLO BOX, 1791
Partially gilt silver and niello box, Moscow. Finely nielloed and guilloched decor all-around.
HALLMARKS: Stamped with hallmark with year "1791", 84-standard and master's mark "AD" in Cyrillic for Andrey Dementiev, 1791 (Postnikova-Loseva #2168).
DIMENSIONS: Diameter 8.5 cm, weight 109.6 grams.
CONDITION: Very good for age. The item is described to the best of our knowledge. Please refer to pictures and email with any questions.
ESTIMATE PRICE: $4,000 - $10,000.
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago Russian silver boxes (not from 18th century but from late 19th CENTURY) were sold on Live Auctioneers for $5,100 (3 years ago), $6,000 (3 years ago), $7,000 (9 years ago) and $8,500 (7 years ago) - please see the screenshots.
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WIKIPEDIA: Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed into the engraved lines in the metal. It hardens and blackens when cool, and the niello on the flat surface is polished off to show the filled lines in black, contrasting with the polished metal (usually silver) around it. It may also be used with other metalworking techniques to cover larger areas, as seen in the sky in the diptych illustrated here. The metal where niello is to be placed is often roughened to provide a key. In many cases, especially in objects that have been buried underground, where the niello is now lost, the roughened surface indicates that it was once there. Niello was used on a variety of objects including sword hilts, chalices, plates, horns, adornment for horses, jewellery such as bracelets, rings, pendants, and small fittings such as strap-ends, purse-bars, buttons, belt buckles and the like. It was also used to fill in the letters in inscriptions engraved on metal.