Cigarette case
Cigarette case
Russia, Moscow
1908-1917
Egor Cheryatov gold and silverware factory
Nephrite, silver; presswork, carving, gilding
11.4 х 7.4 х 1.4 см
Marks: "Г.ЧЕРЯТОВ", certification mark; Moscow District Assay office tee in 1908-1917, alloy: "84"
Silver rectangular cigarette case gilded inside with the hinged, nephrite lid and smooth thumb ramp. The lateral walls are decorated with presswork ornament featuring a vine with leaves and bunches of grapes. A figured shield with the initials and date on it are cut out on the lid inner surface: "PF // 1924 // AS".
Since the middle of the 19th century, when the richest deposits of high quality nephrite were discovered in Russia, it became widely used in Russian lapidary art and jewellery. Being simultaneously firm, viscous and crack-free, nephrite made it possible to obtain products of ideal quality. The physical merits of the stone and the historically favourable conditions for its application, determined the popularity of nephrite in Russian jewellery production in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The best gold and silverware masters used this material to embody artistic ideas into the jewellery artefacts.
Инв.433/ДПИ