Small handled basket

I have no delusions about this charming small handled metal basket/bowl . I am curious as to where it came from though. Can anyone identify the language used in the marking and what it might say? I can provide more better images if necessary. Thanks as always, you folks are super!!

 

I believe the letters are Cyrillic. Probably Russian silverplate (at best.)

 

Thanks bakersgma, I was thinking Russian also. Haha, only because I was behind a bus today that had a Russian advertisement on the back and some of the letters looked similar. I don't think I've ever seen a Russian ad on a bus before; serendipity? I kept searching the ad to see if I could translate any of the letters to the English that it had in it also. I still wonder what the actual translation might be.

 

@Figtree3 knows a bit of Russian. She might be able to help.

 

Yep, it is Cyrillic, and I believe also Russian. This might be an abbreviation. I have seen it before, I think. If it is what I am remembering it is some sort of metal alloy. I can't try to look it up right now.

 

The X at the end of the second line looks scratched in, compared to the other letters that look stamped.

 

I'm going to stick my neck out and say the bottom line is the price, in roman and unabreviated, Cena 4 Roubles.

Thus Soviet era Russian/USSR, where the totally regulated economy meant prices were so fixed they could be stamped into metalwares.

I'd grow some cactus in it. A spiky, slow growing thing that would suit the aridity of the design.

 

OUCH!

 

Thanks everyone! I like the cactus planter idea!

 

I think af has it correct about the original price being on there. As far as I can tell, there are other listings online (mostly on Russian sites) of Мельх being used on metalware marks. But I have not identified what it means.

 

I also have see the mark of Мельх or Мельхиор on Russian silver. Most times I have seen it with the following Кольчугино Завод Мельх that seems to translate to Kolchugino Plant Melch. Kolchugino is the USSR city factory where it was made and Мельх or Мельхиор translates to Melch or Melchior, an alloy such as German silver. There is no silver in it. It is an alloy of copper with a good % of nickel. Here we called nickel silver, German silver, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchior_(alloy)

https://www.google.com/search?q=German+silver+in+Russian&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

>I'd grow some cactus in it. A spiky, slow growing thing that would suit the aridity of the design.<

Af, as someone else used to ask you, "Have you taken your medicine today?"

--- Susan

 

Medicine, sure. I take a little oil of vitriol, add some Old Spice, shake and drink it out of my last enemy's funnybone. Then I breath out and light the fumes to flare off excess enthusiasm.

 

Here we go!
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=20870&start=20

So this handled bowl (seems like it may be a sugar bowl?) is made of melchior (a metal alloy). Мельх would be an abbreviation of Мельхиор >>translation >> melchior (copper/nickel or copper/nickel/iron). And the other mark is a price mark as afantiques suggested...4 rubles. Wow, learn something new everyday!!!