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Russian Silver, Gold and Niello Topographical Snuff Box
This silver, gold and niello inlaid topographical snuff box is a masterpiece of Russian silver. Almost owned by a wealthy 19th-century tradesman, this extraordinary creation shares a remarkable story of trade, travel and silver craftsmanship along Russia’s historic Vologda region.
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
This silver, gold and niello inlaid topographical snuff box is a masterpiece of Russian silver. Almost owned by a wealthy 19th-century tradesman, this extraordinary creation shares a remarkable story of trade, travel and silver craftsmanship along Russia’s historic Vologda region.
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
$22,850.00
Russian Silver, Gold and Niello Topographical Snuff Box—
$22,850.00
Description
This silver, gold and niello inlaid topographical snuff box is a masterpiece of Russian silver. Almost owned by a wealthy 19th-century tradesman, this extraordinary creation shares a remarkable story of trade, travel and silver craftsmanship along Russia’s historic Vologda region.
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
More than an object of aesthetic splendor, this functional snuff box captured a bounty of essential information and data for its important owner. Its top displays an intricately inlaid map of Russia’s Vologda region, with silver filigree outlining including Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona River, the Dvina River, the Vychegda River, and cities such as Vologda, Velsk, Totma, Ustyug, Nikolsk and Gryazovets. Certain regions are labeled by their primary trades and exports—stone, iron and paper are all accounted for. A key in the lower right captures the names of towns across the region, along with their distances, measured in the now-obsolete Russian unit of measurement called the Versta, allowing for precise calculations.
The underside of the box provides further intrigue, offering a census of “souls” of different classes of Russian society, including merchants, peasants, bondsmen and tradesmen. A total of 299,801 souls are meticulously counted for the owner’s knowledge.
Crafted in Russia in 1824, this box was far more than a decorative object for carrying snuff. It offered its tradesman the ability to hold crucial knowledge of the world around him in hand. This box ties its wealthy owner to the commerce and lives of the region's inhabitants.
A nearly identical snuff box resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hallmarked “A Z S" in Cyrillic, Aleksander Schilin"
Circa 1824
5/8“ high x 3 3/8” wide x 2 1/8“ deep
