M. OVCHINNIKOV - RUSSIAN SET of SIX SILVER and NIELLO TEA SPOONS, 1894
Each spoon has a pear-shaped bowl nielloed with views of Moscow, a faceted stem, and comes in a fitted wood case stamped with 'M. Ovchinnikov' beneath the Russian Imperial warrant.
HALLMARKS: '84' for silver and 'MiY' in Cyrillic for workmaster.
ASSAYER: 'AA' in Cyrillic for Anatoly Apollonovich Artsybashev, 1894 (Postinikova-Loseva #2125).
CONDITION: Very good condition for its age. For further information, please refer to the pictures.
PROVENANCE: 1. Property from the estate of N.Hilsman, Plainfield, New Jersey, USA, May 07, 2014; 2. Doyle Auction, New York, USA, May 19, 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: Length 4 1/2 inches (11.4 cm).
ESTIMATED PRICE: 1,000 - $6,000 (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 niello Spoons were sold on Live Auctioneers and Sotheby's for $5,000 (9 years ago), $5,500 (7 years ago), $5,700 (7 years ago), and $6,100 (7 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.
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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.

A LIFETIME WARRANTY is provided for the originality of this particular item manufactured during the described period of time.
BEST INVESTMENT: If you are an individual or an investment company concerned about preserving your capital in these uncertain times, items with a LIFETIME WARRANTY are the best way to do so. Consider this: traditional banks typically offer annual returns of 1-3% on your funds, while inflation exceeds 5%. In contrast, collectible items with a LIFETIME WARRANTY can yield a minimum profit of 30-50% per year - with no associated risks. Some of our items with a LIFETIME WARRANTY have the potential to generate immediate profits of 100% or even more!! By the way, our estimated price is much lower than the market price for this item now. Please explore our "HISTORY of SALES" section and look at the screenshots for samples of similar items sold at renowned auctions, such as Sotheby's, Christie's, Live Auctioneers, eBay, and more. The choice is YOURS.

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. Periods when engraving filled in with niello has been used to make full images with figures have been relatively few, but include some significant achievements. In ornament, it came to have competition from enamel, with far wider colour possibilities, which eventually displaced it in most of Europe. The name derives from the Latin nigellum for the substance, or nigello or neelo, the medieval Latin for black. Though historically most common in Europe, it is also known from many parts of Asia and the Near East.

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