attribution

[ALEKS]

Hello. I need your help, help me with the Riga CS master.

[Ubaranda]

Most likely Carl August Schulmann (known in 1874-1918)/

[Qrt.S]

First, I thought so too, but A. Leistikow shows a picture of Carl August Schulmann's punch being AS in oval frame on page 330 in Baltisches Silber, but he could have used several punches, who knows?

[Ubaranda]

Annelore is also a human and could also made a mistake :-). I believe that the mark A.S in the oval belongs to August Heinrich Schmidt (No 264 from V.Vilite).

[Qrt.S]

Well we all are human and do mistakes...interesting that Lestikow doesn't mention August Heinrich Schmidt at all ???
Tricky case anyway and as said "Who knows?"!

[Silverstone]

Dear Aleks, Ubaranda and Qrt.S,

August Heinrich Schmidt (1815-1833) must have been as old as the hills, because he began an apprenticeship with Georg Gottlieb Bergholtz in Mitau in 1797-1805.
“On December 1st, 1834 he appears no longer in the directory of district masters.” a)

I believe it is Georg Heinrich Schmidt, 1849-1893.
Aleks wrote “CS”.
I want to show you a photo of a hallmark of August Gottfried Schmidt. b)
The “G” looks like a “C”.
Perhaps “GS” is another hallmark of Georg Heinrich Schmidt (1849-1893)?



Source:
a) Annelore Leistikov, Baltisches Silber, p. 329
b) Baltisk Silver i svensk ägo, Kulturen Lund, 1986

Regards
Silverstone

[Silverstone]

Of course another mistake:
The letter "t" was lost"!
Baltiskt Silver i svensk ägo

[Ubaranda]

Hello Silverstone!
You are mixing up August Gottfried Schmidt and August Heinrich Schmidt. These are different people and they lived and worked at different times.

[Qrt.S]

August Heinrich Schmidt (1815-1833)

??? AGS on the photo is August GOTTFRIED Schmidt 1815-1833 and not Heinrich. Let's skip this master. He is too old.

Here is the "list" but who is the maker? I start to believe that this AS is unknown to name for the moment.

1 Carl August Schulmann 1874-1918. AS punch in square with rounded corners ? (Leistikow p. 330)
2 August Heinrich Schmidt 1848-? Punch not known (Vilite #264 on p. 85)
3 Georg Heinrich Schmidt 1849-1893, GHS (Leistikow p. 329)
4 (August Gottfried Schmidt 1815-1833 AGS (Leistikow p. 329. Skip him, too old)

Still a tricky case but interesting anyway.

[ALEKS]

Ubaranda Qrt.S Silverstone -Thank you very much for your attention to the topic.

[AG2012]

Where is the logic discussing an obviously East Prussian silversmith working in Latvia under Russian occupation, i.e. under colonial rule ? Compare with e.g. magnificent Nigerian and Mali art, fetching high prices at auctions, but never classified as British or French artifacts.

[Ubaranda]

Where is the logic discussing an obviously East Prussian silversmith working in Latvia under Russian occupation, i.e. under colonial rule ? Compare with e.g. magnificent Nigerian and Mali art, fetching high prices at auctions, but never classified as British or French artifacts.

I have always believed that this forum was intended for discussion of silver products and hallmarks on them. but not for expression political views. It's time for you to understand this!

[AG2012]

On the other hand, Aristotle wrote that ethics and politics are closely linked.
There is no ethics in colonialism and occupation, nothing to do with politics but ethics.
Therefore, e.g. Mali terracotta works of art from Djenne Inland Delta region are NOT French and have never been classified as French art.
Accordingly, this set of marks should be classified as ``German silversmith from Riga, Latvia``.

[Ubaranda]

The mark CS belongs to a German maker (Jewish?) from the city of Riga, Russian Empire. Hallmarks are Russian.
Question: are objects made, for example, in Breslau or in Danzig in the 18th-19th centuries - German or Polish?

[Mart]

On the other hand, Aristotle ...this set of marks should be classified as....

I thought that you were just funny, but you were also very smart, you read Aristotle (possibly). An excited brain needs to be fed. I propose to reconsider the attributions of St. Petersburg silversmiths, because there are doubts about the legality of the city’s origins. Return everyone (Faberge, Vyakeva, Rapoport, Butz, etc.) to their homeland! And Moscow silversmiths too, because it is not very clear on whose land the city was founded. And Tobolsk, and Tomsk and other cities. It is necessary to name all silversmiths by their place of birth in accordance, for example, with maps of the 13th century. You have given birth to a brilliant idea! If this is possible, then make a list for us so that we can understand which silversmiths should be recorded in which country and what nationality they should be considered to be.
PS. Please qualify as you wish if it helps you. In my country, we don’t look at nationality, but look at whether a person is good or not. Nobody calls the Baltic silversmiths Russians. Nobody even thinks about it.