Burnell and Rowe

Description

Here we have an early 20th Century Russian Silver Tea Strainer from the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. The tea strainer is round, with a gilded bowl and a pierced and engraved rim with foliate & geometric decoration.

The tea strainer was made in the city of Kostroma in Western Russia between around 1900 and 1910. The cyrillic makers' mark is ИІМ, which has not be identified as an individual but was known to be active in the city for certain between 1899 and 1908 and probably for some years either side. The strainer has the cyrillic AC assay mark of Alexsandr Nikolaievitch Snarsky, who was the Kostroma assayer from 1900-1910.

Condition is good with just a small split in the rim at the midway point at one side, which has no effect on the function of the tea strainer. The gilding of the bowl has worn a little thin over the course of time but is still very much there. Please make sure to view all the photographs.

The tea strainer is 10.8cm / 4.2ins from rim to handle, 7.6cm / 3ins across and 1.1cm / 0.43ins high. It weighs in at 23.9g / 0.84oz of solid silver.

The tea strainer is marked in a number of places. Inside the bowl is the full kokoshnik mark with the 84 stamp, which shows that it is 84 zolotniks of silver, which equates to 875 / 1000 grade silver and was the standard Russian grade. The mark also has the cyrillic AC for the assayer Alexsandr Snarsky. There is a separate ИІМ makers' mark in the bowl. The makers' mark and simple kokoshnik mark are repeated on the underside of the rim and the underside of the handle. There is also a third mark on the handle, which may be an Austrian Empire import mark.

Shipping in the UK is £10 by Royal Mail Special Delivery, which includes cover for the value of the tea strainer.
Overseas customers, please ask us about shipping costs to your country before making a purchase.