ANTIQUE RUSSIAN SILVER NIELLO BASKET, 1893
For your viewing pleasure, here is a rare antique Imperial Russian 84 silver basket decorated with niello. It showcases beautiful niello silver work.
HALLMARKS: '84' for silver content and 'IA' in Cyrillic for silver master Ivan Vasilyevich Avdeyev.
ASSAYER: '1893' for a year and 'A.A' in Cyrillic for Anatoliy Apollonovich Artsybashev, 1888-1898 (Postinikova-Loseva #2125).
CONDITION: Very good condition for its age. Showing some wear. For further information, please refer to the pictures.
PROVENANCE: 1. Property from the estate sale, SOLON, OH, USA; 2. Beachwood Auctions LLC, SOLON, OH, USA (the winner will receive this information); 3. Our sale of this item adds another layer of provenance (please print this page). History of sale is very IMPORTANT for serious collection.
DIMENSIONS: 7 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 6 inches (19.5 x 13.5 x 15.5 cm). Weight: 190 grams.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $1,000 - $4,000 (significantly lower than today's market price). You have a GREAT CHANCE to purchase a rare item for your collection, and over the years, its price will only INCREASE.
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago, Silver baskets were sold on Live Auctioneers and Sotheby's for $2,200 (1 year ago), $3,411 (5 years ago), $5,625 (11 years ago), and $8,057 (11 years ago) - please refer to the screenshots for details. Today, prices have significantly increased compared to those of 5-10 years ago.
WARRANTY: The buyer has 5 days to inspect items for originality, valued at up to $5,000, and 10 days for items valued at $5,000 or more. Items can be returned to the seller for a refund; please refer to the Terms for more details.
NO RESERVE: Most of the auctioned items have NO reserve price. Among the remaining items, there are reserve prices set at incredibly low levels, typically ranging from 30-40% of the low estimate price.
PAYMENT: Payment can be made with a Credit Card, Zelle, PayPal (for international bidders), Wire Transfer, Check, or Money Order. You can also suggest other methods of payment. Canadian winners can make payments to a Canadian Bank in CAD via Check, Money Order, Wire Transfer, or Interac e-Transfer.
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FREE SHIPPING: For item valued at $5,000 or more, domestic shipping is FREE. For other items, domestic shipping costs by registered mail range from $18.85 to $24.85 - much lower than in other places. Additionally, for XPress post shipping, the costs range from $48.85 to $68.85 (XPress post offers 100% safety; according to our experience, packages sent by XPress post have never been lost). There are NO pick-up fees, NO handling fees, and NO transportation fees. Combined shipping is available, and the shipping fee for each additional item is ONE DOLLAR.
CERTIFICATE: Looking to purchase an antique GIFT from us for someone else? Our Gift Certificates, available for any amount, are a great option to allow them to select items of their choice! Each Gift certificate is valid for ONE YEAR. You will have this Certificate in your hand. It is a very Unusual and Intelligent gift. Please email us for details.
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EXCHANGE: If you find an item in our auction that you like, you have the option to exchange it for your collectible items of equivalent estimated value. Additionally, you can use your items as PART of the PAYMENT for a winning item; please feel free to inquire about this new and exciting feature.
PLEASE NOTE: If you want to buy this item, please make a bid now. Any offer is welcome. Lots that do NOT have any bids or have only ONE bid on them will be CLOSED three days before the auction starts and will not be included in it. Currently, there are 700+ items available for preview, but there will be ONLY 400 items in the Live Auction. Please bid NOW.

NIELLO: Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed into the engraved lines in the metal. It hardens and blackens when cool, and the niello on the flat surface is polished off to show the filled lines in black, contrasting with the polished metal (usually silver) around it. It may also be used with other metalworking techniques to cover larger areas, as seen in the sky in the diptych illustrated here. The metal where niello is to be placed is often roughened to provide a key. In many cases, especially in objects that have been buried underground, where the niello is now lost, the roughened surface indicates that it was once there.

Used