1884 etched spoon with male head makers mark (identification?)

Hello fellow antiquers,

I know nothing about spoons but like to collect them. Just trying to figure out where I might start to identify this maker. I was intrigued by the little head/profile next to the '84 in the top picture.

I presume this is 1884 (and not some other century) but any pointers on urls or places to look for identification are most welcome. It appears hand etched and is not silver.

 

It is an 84 zolotnik mark, for .875 silver fineness. This particular one was used from 1908-1926.
The engraving on the bowl of the spoon is very Russian.

 

Capitulation, I can't see a male head on the maker's mark, maybe you mean the head next to the 84? That is a lady wearing a kokoshnik, a Russian city headdress. The nickname of the marks with the lady is kokoshnik mark.

A modest kokoshnik like the lady on the mark is wearing:


https://jenniwiltz.medium.com/a-brief-history-of-the-russian-kokoshnik-tiara-3a5189cdd945

 

As said, a 1908-26 Russian 'kokoshnik' mark, assayed in Moscow...

~Cheryl

 

Thank you so very much Any Jewelry! It didnt dawn on me (clearly) that the 84 meant 84 zol. = 875/1000. Thank you for steering me in the proper direction quickly, and pardon my ignorance. I will be posting another picture of a very tiny 2.5 inch spoon from the same lot. Most appreciated!!!

 

You're welcome, capitulation.
It isn't ignorance, you can't know everything, and you were smart enough to ask.

 

Thank you for your kindness. I live in Chicago, and there are a fair amount of Russians/Ukranians, etc here so somehow this found its way into the junk shop. Again, thank you for providing a springboard for further reading on my own.

 

Nice painting!

 

It's a sweet honest spoon, I like it. The monogram is quite lovely, would have been done by a different hand than the other engraving, which was likely done by the maker (just for clarity, etching is an acid-process).

Poked around a bit to see if I could find the maker, no luck, but did find another spoon that might be from the same maker - the seller is mistaken regarding the 'import mark', that's the Moscow small goods kokoshnik from the same time period as yours (which occasionally shows up on articles a bit larger than 'small goods').

https://www.rubylane.com/item/694606-FA199/Russian-84-Standard-Silver-Teaspoon-Moscow


~Cheryl

 

Oh good detective work. I do see "Maker's mark "АЯ" (Cyrillic)" very clearly on my spoon like on this other spoon. They do look like the same maker. The spoon is super attractive and I picked it (along with the Italian salt one) out of a box of 25 or so spoons. This particular junk shop is really good at plucking all the sterling and 925 spoons but seems to be quite remiss with the European makers...they were 50 cents a piece! Thank you again!

 

The style of the monogram is Art Nouveau, so the spoon could have been made and monogrammed during the early years of the mark.

Your luck. So you will be going there regularly?

 

Thank you for that observation about the monograph being Art Nouveau - I agree and didnt think of that. I have been going to this shop 2-4x a week for years (its 2 blocks from my home). A lot of auction houses and antique shops seem to dump their unsellable or excess stock in there, which is most appreciated, however there is a lot of picker competition too, which makes it more fun

 

I *think* according to articolo7.html that the maker is A. Yahainov

 

(Flipped to show the mark properly oriented):





If only Russian silver was simple...

Not sure why Giorgio used that image in his article (we all make mistakes), he shows the same set of marks on his 'silvercollection' site, correctly identifying the 'А▪Я' mark as St. Petersburg assayer (not maker) Alexander Yashinov (or Yashinkov/Yashenkov), working 1795-1826:

http://www.silvercollection.it/russiansilverhallmark.html




~Cheryl

 

I'm confused, just because I don't know much about these things. If the assayer's mark is from the late 18th or early 19th century, why is the zolotnik mark from the 20th century? Just curious, as the ones I've seen analyzed here before didn't seem to have that sort of difference in dates.

And I'm sure you've identified the assayer correctly, Cheryl.

 

I was kind of curious about the same thing but was too timid to ask....

 

Sorry, should have been more clear - the 'А▪Я' mark belonging to assayer Yashinov is not the same as the 'АЯ' maker's mark on the OP's much later spoon with the kokoshnik mark ('zolotnik' is a Russian measure of fineness that dates back centuries) - the maker of the 20th century spoon does not appear to be well-known.

Never be too timid to ask, it's the way to learn - I learn new stuff all the time, gaining knowledge is a lifelong process...


~Cheryl

 

Thank you, Cheryl!

 

Yes thank you, I get it now. What an introduction to the vagueries of Russian silverware.. I perhaps wasnt too timid to ask - but was afraid I had worn you out with too many questions...you have really given this spoon a story, thank you again Cheryl (and Figtree)!

 

Hah - we love questions, asking and answering! Like some others here, I love silver, and spoons in particular (it's an addiction, really), so feel free to post as many of your finds as you'd like.

~Cheryl