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Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 2:08 pm
by JWK
Hi all,
found another one for your perusal:

Ice tongs in trompe l'oeil basket weave pattern:

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length just over 5 inches

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Marked inside the top (and thus almost impossible to photograph):
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Assayer Nikolay Nikolayevich Korbitsky (1886-1887 http://www.925-1000.com/Frussia_assay_02.html )
Moscow townmark

But who's the maker? "AK"?


JW

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 2:37 pm
by silverfan
The item looks more like a sugar tongs!? How Long?
Regards silverfan

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 2:40 pm
by JWK
14 cms.
I was told these were ice tongs because of the ribbed surface of the tips, sugar tongs are smooth.

JW

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:24 pm
by Qrt.S
Ice-tongs weren't even invented at that time. It is an ordinary sugar-tong made by a master unfortunately unknown to name.

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:33 pm
by silverfan
maker is most probably Antip Ivanovic Kuzmichev.
Regards silverfan

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:29 pm
by Ubaranda
Hello!

The assayer НК is not Nikolay Korbitsky. It is a mistake in the catalog of Postnikova-Loseva. He is Nikolay Vasilyevich Kulakov (Николай Васильевич Кулаков) - the assistant manager of Moscow assay office.
See my pictures and see the topic http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 24&t=42023

Best regards.

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Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:43 pm
by Goldstein
Hi JW -

Objects of Kuzmitschev A. I. are the most common silver items which can be found - so it is probably him as silverfan stated. The assayer is already corrected by Ubaranda.
Ice cube-tongs were also already in use - but twice the size of sugar-tongs. See catalogues of Fabergé, Khlebnikov, Gratschev and others.

Fabergé catalogue from 1893
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ice cube-tongs
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sugar-tongs
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A small collection of Russian sugar-tongs and the possible diversity
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Regards
Goldstein

Re: Ice tongs 1887 - who made them?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 6:50 pm
by JWK
All: thanks very very much for your contributions!

If I may recap:
Maker: (probably) Antip Ivanovic Kuzmichev
Assayer: Nikolay Vasilyevich Kulakov (Николай Васильевич Кулаков)
And they're sugar tongs (which is what I use them for actually, not daily but regularly. They work wonderful with olives as well!)

Many thanks!
JW