ANTIQUE 19thC RUSSIAN SOLID SILVER & ENAMEL CIGARETTE CASE, OVCHINNIKOV c.1866
19th Century Imperial Russian silver & enamel cigar case, of rounded rectangular form, the surface applied with black enamel depicting a hunting hound amongst bushes, the reverse lid engraved with an elaborate cartooche within scalloped foliate borders and engine turned ground, the cigarette case has been lined with velvet, later converted into a spectacles case, comes in a red leather bound presentation case.
Hallmarked Russian silver 91 (937), Moscow, Maker's mark in Cyrillic for Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov.
Reference Number: B6342
DESCRIPTION
Antique 19th Century Imperial Russian large solid silver & enamel cigar case, of rounded rectangular form, the surface applied with black enamel depicting a hunting hound amongst bushes, the reverse lid engraved with an elaborate cartooche within scalloped foliate borders and engine turned ground, the cigarette case has been lined with velvet, later converted into a spectacles case, comes in a red leather bound presentation case. Both sides of the case are Hallmarked Russian silver 91 (937 standard), Moscow, Assay Master Victor Savinsku (1859-1894), year 1866, Maker's mark in Cyrillic for Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov (active 1830-1888)
Pavel Ovchinnikov (in Russian: Павел Акимович Овчинников) was one of the most famous Russian silversmiths of his time and an exceptional businessman. He was born in Moscow province in 1830, from a family of modest origins: his father was a serf. Nevertheless Pavel was sent to study in Moscow by Prince Dimitri Volkonski, where he was apprenticed in a jewellery shop.
In 1850 he gained his freedom and three years later he founded his own workshop. In his factory he employed more than a hundred men, and in 1865 he was appointed Court supplier to the future Tzar Alexander III. His works were exhibited at the Pan-Russian manufacturing exhibition in 1865 where he won the gold medal and at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. Few years later he was appointed court supplier by the king of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II and the king of Denmark Christian IX.
In 1873 Ovchinnikov opened a branch in St. Petersburg and by 1881 over three hundred people were working for the firm. Understanding the importance of education, he founded a professional school at his factory for training artists and craftsmen in silverware and jewellery.
Pavel died in 1888 and his sons Mikhail, Alexander, Pavel and Nikolai took over the company until 1917, when the firm ceased trading due to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. Ovchinnikov is particularly famous for his fine enamel works: he developed different processing techniques (cloisonné, champleé and on watermark) giving them prestige and popularity all over Europe. Nowadays his works are represented at the most important international museums and royal collections.
CONDITION
In Great Condition - No Damage.
SIZE
Length: 15cm
Width: 2.5 x 8cm
Weight: 305g