A RUSSIAN GOLD CIGARETTE CASE, BY ANDREI BRAGIN, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1910 The rectangular case with rounded corners, reeded decoration and foliate border in neo-classical design, the thumbpiece with an oval sapphire sugarloaf, marked 56 zolotnik-gold standard for 14K gold, with second kokoshnik mark (post-1908), maker’s mark in Cyrillic for Andrei Bragin, assayer master Alexander Romanov (in office from 1904-1912), length 10cm Active from 1852, Andrei Stepanovich Bragin would become one of St. Petersburg’s most renowned silversmiths. Bragin would open his own workshop in 1888 at No. 4 Spassky Lane, which worked on a much smaller scale than his competitors, but quality over quantity would make Bragin’s beautiful pieces some of the most celebrated of the day. By 1897, Bragin had 25 craftsmen under his employ and his work was featured in international competitions and being sold at the House of Faberge. From tableware to tea sets to cigarette cases, Bragin’s works echoed the Modern style of the era in design, but Pan-Slavic motifs were frequently incorporated into the pieces in the form of very fine enamelling decoration which echoed Russian folk embroidery, marking his work as quintessentially Russian. Today, Bragin’s pieces can be found on display in the Ruzhnikov Museum in London and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, but much of his work remains in private collections and are highly sought-after on the auction scene.

Surface scratches, some slightly deeper nicks evident under 10x magnification Some small indistinct dents evident at certain angles under light One elastic to interior detached Overall good condition, total gross weight approx. 147.6g