Is it even sterling?

[SusanWhite]

Hello...

We have what we think is an egg spoon and which we thought was sterling, but upon examining the elaborate maker's marks, we realized there's no rampant lion anywhere. It has some kind of etching of what looks to be a church on it ... a souvenir spoon, I'd guess.

I hope I'm not breaking the forum rules if it turns out not to be sterling ... if I am, sorry about that and I'll know in future... The first set of initials are clearly R M with the last initial looking like an A or a lopsided L. The second set of initials looks like B G ... they've somewhat fallen off the side and it's hard to make them out even with a jeweler's loop ... they surmount what is presumably the date of 1886. The symbol to the right of the 94 [and don't know what the 94 stands for], looks like a bird landing on a branch and the last stamp is, as best I can tell, a crown.

Anyway, if anyone can shed some light on this one, I'd really appreciate it, especially if it isn't sterling, which is important to know....

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Susan

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[dognose]

Hi Susan,
Your spoon is Russian, the mark on the left of your middle picture is the makers mark, next is the assayers mark and date, then the silver standard and then the town mark, so it is silver but below the sterling standard, others I dare say will fill in the finer details, hope this helps ,
Regards Trev.
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[SusanWhite]

Thanks, Trev!

How in the world did you figure out that it's Russian?? One of my roommates is Russian and she didn't recognize it!! Once you pointed this out, she was really delighted about having a Russian piece, even if it's lower than the sterling standard. Was it the bird symbol or something else that tipped you off?

I really appreciate your help in deciphering this one, thank you so much....

Sincerely,
Susan
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[dognose]

Hi Susan,
The spoon is typically Russian in every respect, the fig shape bowl, the knop finial, the twisted stem and often seen on Russian spoons is the niello decoration on the bowl, this is achieved by first engraving the area with the required design then filling the void areas with an alloy of lead, silver, copper and sulphur then firing the spoon and finally polishing off the surplus,hope this helps,
Regards Trev.
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[larkfield]

I have been trying to decide whether the silver standard mark in the photo is 84 or 94. If it is 84 which is the most likely, then it is 87.5% silver. If it is 94 then it would be 98% silver.
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[SusanWhite]

Dear Larkfield,

It is definitely a 94 ... which is terrific news!

Thanks so much for the additional information, it is very helpful and deeply appreciated....

Sincerely,
Susan
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[Juke]

It is a nice spoons and it is actually a tea spoon. I believe the spoon has been assayed by Viktor Savinkov in 1886.

It is not a bird but St.George killing the dragon which is the city mark of Moscow.

The spoon is 84 zolotniks silver which is typical for tea spoons. It has been struck slightly bad which is typical when struck on spoon stems and also worn during the years so the 8 is not fully there as also for the 4. I believe 94 zolotniks would be too soft for tea spoon purpose.
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[paulh]

Hello Susan,

your spoon was made by V.M.Ashmarin. He worked in Moscow from 1883-1908. The fourth mark is the Moscow town mark. It is actually St. George and the Dragon, but it is difficult to see that on this particular piece. The second mark, with the date 1886, is that of the assay master and the date of assay. In this case Viktor Savinkov, who was assay master from 1855 -1888. The letters on the spon are in the Cyrillic alphabet which is why B.C. stands for Viktor Savinkov.

The niello pictures on the backs of spoons such as this were often depictions of actual buildings. Perhaps your rom mate can help in your next quest to identify it!

Hope this helps.

Paul
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[SusanWhite]

Dear Kerppola and Paul,

Many, many thank you's for your help!! This spoon has turned out to be lots of fun to learn about -- Kira says you are right, Kerppola, 94 would be too soft ... it must be an 84. I personally still think that stamp looks like a bird landing, but I'm willing to believe all of you about it being St. George killing a dragon.... :0)

Wow, Paul ... thanks for the additional information! Kira was trying to decide about the letters [she's been in the USA for over 40 years and hasn't had many opportunities to keep up with reading Russian] but as soon as you pointed all of this out, she was nodding and agreeing with you as she read it. Her thoughts on identifying the building were that "Russia is a mighty big country...." ;0)

The crown stamp on the far right ... does it have any meaning?

Thanks to everyone for your help -- I really enjoy participating here!

Sincerely,
Susan

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[Juke]

Can't see it very well but could possibly be a later import mark of some country. Typically if the silver item was sold in an other country it was remarked with an import mark of that country.

There are many russian silver items which has been remarked after the revolution in different countries.
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[paulh]

Could that last mark be an owl? This was a Polish import mark.
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[SusanWhite]

Dear Kerppola and Paul,

Thanks for the additional information. I honestly can't get a close enough look at the last stamp (even with a jeweler's loop) to tell if it's an owl, it's pretty faint and kind of "crusty," but it could be. Kira spent her early years in Poland, but she didn't bring this piece over with her. It is delightful how things can come back to roost from faraway places....

Thank you both for all of your help, it is really appreciated!

Sincerely,
Susan
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