Match Case - Faberge? Advice on authenticating?

This was my grandfather's - I remember it from the early '60s (so at least I know it's not an ebay fake ) but I suspect he got it sometime between 1910 and 1930. I hadn't seen it in years, then came across it with my mother's jewelry. I had never looked up the maker's mark before. I was a bit puzzled by the "sterling - russia" on one side but I found a listing by the UK National Trust of a Faberge box the Queen Mother had that was marked this way. It may have been added to make it importable to the UK or US. (It seems to have been hand engraved, not stamped.) Any ideas who I should take it to for authentication and valuation?

 

I don't know anything close to everything about Russian marks, but can tell you a few things that you can confirm via the link I'm going to attach.

The quality stamp (lady's head and 88) indicates that the silver was assayed at .916 silver (not quite the sterling equivalent of .925, but close) between 1908 and 1926 (when the lady faced the number) in Moscow (the triangle or "delta" behind her head.)

See here to confirm (you'll need to get the details via links on that page.) http://www.925-1000.com/Frussia.html

I have no answer for the meaning of the capital P or a translation of the Cyrillic writing (which is probably the maker's name.) Is there more on the left or is that a reflection from taking the picture?

 

Thanks - I knew about the 1908 but didn't know it stopped in 1926.

The Cyrillic is the Faberge mark with the royal warrant over it. The P could be for Feodor Ruckert (P=R cyrillic) but most of his I've seen have O.P.

In the photos it looks like there is some light scratching - maybe a number - on each side, but my eyes even opti-visor assisted can't tell for sure.

 

I just noticed your rumination about being marked "sterling" to allow importation into the UK or US. US is likely (or at least possible) but UK would not be. Their system would have required the marks of the UK importing sponsor and the required "foreign" indicator used in the assay office.

 

That (vesta case, is it?) looks far too crude to be from the Faberge workshops.

 

I just don't think this is up to Faberge standards. I think the mark is fake.

Got a better picture of the Faberge & kokoshnik marks?

The one book I just looked at says that items made for export to European markets had the Faberge name in Roman letters. It's odd to have both Cyrillic and Roman on the piece. Also, the sterling mark is at odds with the kokoshik mark.

This style of cloisonne is called filigree enamel. The decoration is neo-Russian (from that same book). Ruckert did this type of work, but his mark was the two letters as you have noted.

Another book says that K.Faberge along with the Royal Warrant is a mark of the Moscow workshops, but name and warrant were combined together in a single stamp. Not the case here.

 

I don't think this is definitive since the marks match those described on a box in the royal collection in England: "Mark of Feodor Rückert; silver mark of 88 zolotniks; C. Fabergé in Cyrillic characters in Cyrillic characters; STERLING RUSSIA in Roman letters"

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/m...themeid=2491&object=100306&row=7&detail=about

 

I sort of tend to agree with you, which is why I had never bothered to look at the marks before. On the other hand it is much more "alive" than most work of the period that I have seen. When you look at the curly-cues it has for feet you can almost see it running around the yard. And remember we are looking at a 6 inch photo of a one inch (more or less) item.

 

The piece in the Royal collection does not show a picture of the marks (unless I'm missing it). I'll certainly concede that it does say "C. Fabergé in Cyrillic characters; STERLING RUSSIA in Roman letters", but there's no mention of the Royal warrant. One of the books I'm looking at even shows the Faberge name and Royal warrant as separate marks. Both books agree that the Feodor Ruckert mark is Ф.Р.

The quality of the work isn't helping your case. I still think the mark is fake, but I have been wrong before.

That squiggle to the left of the Faberge mark: maybe one of the silver people can say if that looks like an assay mark, and what it might mean.

 

Bob - in this period, the kokoshnik mark IS the assay mark. Since the Cyrillic is tiny (even when blown up via the full size option) and I don't read it anyway, I assumed that all of the "squiggles" on that line were letters, spelling out the maker's name.

 

Wasn't it a practice, when items were imported into some countries, to take a sample of the metal for assay to insure that it met the standards of the destination country? And doesn't that sampling appear as a squiggle on some pieces?

 

Does this piece look like it has been used? Are there indication that it might be a bit worn? Is the front slightly convex? There seems to be staining to the enamel. That could be the result of damage.

What I'm suggesting is that the apparent lack of quality might just be the result of handling.

 

Well, yes. But that kind of defacement is usually a long zig-zag. Given that we're talking about potential importation to the UK or US in the 20th century, that's probably unlikely,

 

A closer, clearer picture of the signature and the kokoshnik mark might help. A closer, clearer picture of that squiggle might also add some information. But ultimately, I don't think a definitive answer will not be found here. It's going to take hands on assessment by someone who knows Faberge.

 

I don't think it's theirs; it's too crude. Faberge was the high end of the high end in enamel. This looks more like I did it.(LOL)

 

I agree with the idea of finding somebody to look at this in person. In looking for a while at various sites with information about Rucker and other Faberge workmasters, I found no indication that Rucker's mark was ever just his surname initial. And the other workmasters with that surname initial also all seemed to use both initials.

The page for the Royal collection item (http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/m...themeid=2491&object=100306&row=7&detail=about) says at the bottom, "Text adapted from Fabergé in the Royal Collection." That is a book... So the website is a tertiary source, although it is on the official site for the Royal Collection Trust and one would think it's reliable. You might want to find a copy of the book (which was published in 2003) to see what it says about the piece. It may include an image of the mark.

I don't see a squiggle to the left of the К Фаберже mark and probably wouldn't know what it was even it I did!

 

This appears to be a genuine Faberge-retailed item created by Feodor Ruckert. The Cyrillic "FR" (O.P.)has been overstruck by the mark of the Faberge firm. There is no way a counterfeiter would have done this. For confirmation on real vs. fake Faberge, you should contact www.kfaberge.com

 

Thanks, Slaudio - I will.

 

elarnia, you say its an inch? Would this then be a stamp holder?

 

No, it's definitely a match, or vesta, case - it has an area for striking on the bottom.