SILVER, DIAMOND's and RUBIES BUTTER DISH and KNIFE, CASED
A stunning vintage gilt-silver shell butter dish with an opaque glass liner and a matching butter knife, presented in its original fitted case. The dish and knife are adorned with a relief mask of a beautiful woman and embellished with diamonds and rubies.
HALLMARKS: '84' silver standard, 'FABERGE' in Cyrillic and 'H.W'. for Henrik Emanuel Wigstrom (1862-1922) who was a department head workmaster for the workshop of Karl Faberge in the years 1903-1918 - please see the information below. The original case is also marked in Cyrillic with 'FABERGE, St. PETERSBURG, MOSCOW, ODESSA, KIEV, LONDON'.
CONDITION: Very good condition for its age. Showing some wear. For further information, please refer to the pictures.
PROVENANCE: 1. From an old collection, New York, USA, 1992-2020; 2. Antique Arena Inc, Brooklyn, New York, USA, November 27, 2021 (the winner will receive this information); 3. Our sale of this item adds another layer of provenance. History of sale is very IMPORTANT for serious collection.
DIMENSIONS: Case: 6 x 6 x 1 1/4 inches (15.3 x 15 x 3.5 cm). Silver dish: 4 x 3 1/5 x 1 inches (10 x 8 x 1.3 cm). Knife: 4 7/10 x 7/10 inches (12 x 1.7 cm).
ESTIMATED PRICE: $3,000 - $10,000 (significantly lower than today's market price). You have a GREAT CHANCE to purchase a rare item for your collection, and over the years, its price will only INCREASE.
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago, Russian Silver bowls were sold on Live Auctioneers, Christie's and Sotheby's for $18,000 (8 years ago), $24,000 (10 years ago), $57,360 (21 years ago), and $59,000 (11 years ago) - please refer to the screenshots for details. Today, prices have significantly increased compared to those of 5-10 years ago.
WARRANTY: The buyer has 7 days to inspect items valued at up to $5,000 and 15 days for items valued at $5,000 or more. Items can be returned to the seller for a refund; please refer to the Terms for more details.
NO RESERVE: More than 70% of all auctioned items have NO reserve price. Among the remaining items, there is a very reasonable reserve price set.
OFFER: If an item is NOT SOLD, you can still submit a reasonable offer. Please save the link to this page.
PAYMENT: For this particular item, please use Wire transfer, Zelle, Certified Check, or Money Order as methods of payment.
PAY in PARTS - HOW it WORKS: You can pay for any item over a period of 3-6 months. To get started, please make a 10% deposit, and the item will be reserved for you. Simply make the deposit using any method listed on the invoice. The remaining balance can be paid in installments over up to 6 months at your convenience. The items will be sent to you once the full payment is made. NO interest will be added. Over the past few years, many people have found this option to be very HELPFUL.
EXCHANGE: If you find an item in our auction that you like, you have the option to exchange it for your collectible items of equivalent estimated value. Additionally, you can use your items as PART of the PAYMENT for a winning item; please feel free to inquire about this new and exciting feature.
FREE SHIPPING worldwide for items valued at $5,000 or more. For other items, domestic shipping costs are $18.85. There are NO pick-up fees, NO handling fees, and NO transportation fees. Combined shipping is available, and the next item will have a shipping fee of ONE DOLLAR.
NEW: Buyers who are satisfied with our service and give us a 5-star rating will receive FREE domestic shipping for ONE YEAR !!
WELCOME: We welcome new bidders and will ship the item according to your instructions.
ABSENTEE BIDs: Placing an absentee bid is another way for you to participate if you can't join Live Auction in person. It's straightforward - we will place bids on your behalf as if you were participating in the auction yourself. You can submit absentee bids on multiple lots, and NO additional fees are required. Please email us for details.
PLEASE NOTE: If you want to buy this item, please make a bid now. Some lots that do not have any bids or have only one bid on them will be CLOSED THREE days before the auction starts and will not be included in it. Currently, there are 700+ items available for preview, but there will be ONLY 450 items in the Live Auction.

WORKMASTER: Henrik Immanuel Wigstrom (1862-1923) was one of the most important FABERGE workmasters along with Michael Perchin. Perchin was the head workmaster from 1886 until his death in 1903, when he was succeeded by his chief assistant Henrik Wigstrom. These two workmasters were responsible for almost all the imperial Easter eggs. Erik August Kollin, a Finn, was head work master from 1870 to 1886 and produced gold jewellery, including pieces in the Scythian style (the Scythian treasure had just been discovered at Kerch in the Crimea). August Wilhelm Holmstrom (who had been appointed head jeweller by Gustav FABERGE in 1857) was born in Ekenas, Finland. Henrik Wigstrom was apprenticed to a local silversmith named Petter Madsen, a successful manufacturer of silverware who was familiar with the jewellery trade in St. Petersburg, as at one time he had had a workshop there. Once in Madsen's employment, his master's trade with Russia, as well as his numerous business contacts here, brought him to work in St. Petersburg. It is unknown who employed Wigstrom on his arrival in the capital, but Wigstrom became assistant in 1884, at the age of 22, to Perchin, whose shop at that time was already working exclusively for FABERGE. Wigstrom became head workmaster at FABERGE after Perchin's death in 1903. The number of craftsmen in Wigstrom's workshop diminished drastically with the outbreak of World War I. By 1918, the Revolution forced the complete closing of the House of FABERGE. Aged 56, Wigstrom retreated almost empty-handed to his summer house, on Finnish territory, and died there in 1923. His art is similar to Perchin's but tends to be in the Louis XVI, Empire, or neo-classical style. Nearly all the FABERGE hardstone animals, figures and flowers from that time period were produced under his supervision.

Used