It was difficult to know what to call this or how to classify it. My question is, with no explanation, does anyone recognize this mark? It could be a foundry mark; it could be from a medallion. Obviously, if the St. Petersburg in question is the one in Russia, it was not aimed at the domestic market. My sense is that they are no longer in operation, but at some time there was a company making artificial materials that mimic some natural ones so well they are routinely mistaken for the real thing. One of these was white or pink marble, used to make decorative relief plaques. See this ARS segment: https://www.google.com/search?q=ant...+plaques&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1 The faux marbre was also used to set what appear to be cast bronze pieces, such as this one of the Calmady Children: Some of them seem to name the artist: The feature that gets some people really excited is that they all have either this mysterious St. Petersburg tag on the back, or, more exciting, one of several different 'bronze' medallions. The one I have seen most often is the reverse of a medal made for Louis XIV by Jean Mauger in 1689: The artwork, the artists' names, the dates and the medals on the backs seem to have nothing to do with one another, but the overall effect leads people to think they have something unique and valuable. I have been able to identify all the other medallions I have seen so far and some of the artwork. E.W. Wyon and Enrico Braga, who is named on some pieces, were real people; they don't seem to be the authors of any of the originals. I don't have much hope of solving the mystery of who the company was, only of cataloguing and characterizing their productions. So, anyone know this St. Petersburg mark?
Lol, just saw a Worthpoint bronze frog with this mark, calling it an F, then asking Fabrege? https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/exquisite-bronze-frog-paperweight-536967300
Maybe it is not a real company,organized crime has been making and selling counterfeits/reproductions for many years and probably dates back beyond the Roman empire. I have been asked to make "copies" of certain items in the past.One example with photos here of an ivory netsuke by a woman in Moldavia,see top link first for context. https://www.thecarvingpath.net/topic/1397-haru-ko/?tab=comments#comment-12470 https://www.thecarvingpath.net/topic/1526-haru-ko-or-broken-author-right/?tab=comments#comment-13504
Hello Bronwen, I've checked all foundry marks of St Petersburg from 1882 and did not find any similar. As for domestic market, at that time most industrial enterprises were founded by foreigners and their marks were in their native language, so (if it is authentic) it is very possible that this piece was aimed at domestic market.
This is too funny. Thanks for turning it up. Have added it to my photo files for this mark. It looks like an F to me too, but had not thought of Faberge. It's not, of course, but may be meant to suggest it. The firm were located in St. Petersburg & 1882 is the year Carl took over management. Think this shows that the tag is complete in itself, not part of something larger. The medals used are all copies of genuine French ones, so seems likely this is also a copy of something. They were mass producing their items. The rondels are all in the same frame. With the Internet, it is easy now to find multiples of many of the designs. Suspect this work predates it, so one question in my mind is whether, at the time they were first sold, purchasers thought they were getting something unique & paid accordingly, or knew what they were getting were high quality decorator items. It's the obfuscation over the name of the manufacturer that makes it seem something shady is going on. The original Incolay studios made work in a material people sometimes mistake for stone & some of the artwork they used was copied 18th century engraved gems without attribution, but they put their right name on their work, like a legitimate business. Thank you, Natasha, for following up on that possibility. INH's frog seems to indicate it is not a foundry mark exactly, but does seem to be a 'borrowed' maker's mark.
Was trying to spare you all this, but it's even more complicated. If this opens to the right place, you'll be on page 14 of the Cameo Show & Tell thread: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cameos-show-tell-or-ask-answer.23493/page-14#post-353108 At that point I was asking kyratango if she could learn anything about a mysterious company, T.P. Danbiere, Paris, whose name appears on some little trinket boxes with cameo lids. The same cameos turn up as brooches with no makers mark. All are in an artificial material mimicking a natural one &, most of the time, doing it well. Apart from a man whose name is Dan Biere, 'Danbiere' does not seem to exist as the name of anyone, anything, anywhere. There are some cameos that do not also appear as box lids, but do have a tag, completely spurious: What ties the cameos to the wall plaques is this: The medal is the reverse of one made to commemorate the visit, in 1717, of Peter the Great to the Paris Mint. I'm still trying to ID the artwork. The date, 1889, is the year of the Exposition Universelle in Paris. It is all very clever & well thought out. The art selected is highly appealing, the molds were crisp. All the little touches create an impression of class & quality. No idea who was behind it all, but willing to bet they were not French.
I can't offer any insight into the St Petersburg mark though I wonder if it's a company that makes museum reproductions to sell in gift shops. I did find a few listed as resin. Anyway, this seller calls it a reproduction and says it was kept in a box. Perhaps they also would know where it came from or if there is maker info on the box. https://www.ebay.ie/itm/BEAUTIFUL-R...3-5-cm-high-/292763061214?hash=item442a09cbde
Yikes! The frogs are a whole other can of worms. So far we've got a bug on a frog & a frog on a frog. One with green on it; one without. Must be a snail on a frog out there somewhere. At least this seller knows what they have. It's small, might fit into one of the trinket boxes. Will see if seller has any further info, possibly approx. time when first acquired. Am not going to be surprised if other 'bronze' miniatures with the St. Petersburg label turn up.
Then there's this one: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0035/lot-7fd80250-0ae9-4d5c-a39e-a79300fba223 I'd say they were less successful with their efforts at reproducing verdigris than they were with some other things. Malachite really didn't work for them either.
Just a thought, but have you tried Daubiere (instead of Danbiere)? This returns lots of French covered copper casseroles. A bit of a stretch from a casserole to a trinket box but at least a different angle to explore as far as the name goes. Haven't been able to find any of the cameo lidded trinket boxes you mentioned. Can you post a link to one?
I'm open to any new ideas for research avenues. When I put kyratango on it, she suggested it might be Danbeine, because it can look like that. Hope this displays for you what I'm seeing, image results for a Google search for 'danbiere box': https://www.google.com/search?q=dan...eAhXIT98KHTC0AakQsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=1600&bih=764 The setting and general qualities tie cameos like the one below to the one on the left above. Then there is the faux marbre plaque that says Danbiere & all it's relatives. I only became aware of the plaques a couple of days ago, when I got an excited message from another cameo collector saying she had found this really great marble plaque with a medal on the back... Before I had even seen that message she had sent one saying to forget it, under magnification it was clear it had been molded. A search for 'perfugium regibus' will turn up many of the plaques, described more & less accurately, with prices more & less appropriate.
I wrote & heard back. The box was protective, not original. She acquired it from an estate, takes a guess that it could be in the neighborhood of 28 years old, strictly a guess. It was worth asking. Once you're on the lookout for certain information, eBay has a way of producing it, eventually.
Whoa! I'm not the first to start rounding up examples of these plaques: https://www.ebay.com/cln/ucchii7/paintings/183462867015
This is just plain scary: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4999306_032013-madame-leon-bertaux-oval-marble-relief-plaque
The artists' names are all of real people. What is less clear is whether the name & the artwork belong together in all cases. Some are correctly labeled. But then there's this great chaotic universe of sellers describing unlabeled pieces as being by one of the artists named on others. I can't find any evidence that Enrico Braga ever did any reliefs, but he gets credited in one place or another, not just with the putti musicians that has his name on it, but with all of the rondels, including the Calmady Children & the Infant Academy, which are sometimes labeled as being by E.W. Wyon. I'm not entirely sure that some of the sources that list Wyon's work haven't taken some of their 'information' from some of the plaques. https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-circular-waxed-plaster-relief-of-the-5714808-details.aspx Is this as Christie's describe it? Or is it another impostor? This is a very deep rabbit hole.
Cleaning out my e-mail inbox, came across this exchange from a while back. Sent a very polite note with a link to a site where they would see others, in the hope it would become obvious the piece is molded. They came back with an offer at a much reduced price, still, of course, way more than piece is worth. They had trouble with the link. This is the tail end of our correspondence: ANTIQUE AMBER CAMEO BROOCH STERLING SILVER HIGH RELIEF & DETAIL VINTAGE ESTATE Price: $574.00 Buy it now Me: These are clearly molded pieces, not antique & not amber, although quite attractive in their own way. I thank you again, but suggest you reconsider your description. Them: i copied and paste and nothing came up. We appreciate your concerns but we have gemologist that grade our items before we list. I will pass on your info for further review. They had a gemologist 'grade' it?!!
Thanks for linking to this thread in a different thread, Bronwen. Otherwise I might never have read it. Not sure how it was missed the first time around!
