SOLD OUT - Antique Russian silver - gilt Niello kovsh by Pavel Ovchinnikov

Antique 19th century 875 (84 Zolotniki) silver gilt niello kovsh by Pavel Ovchinnikov with Imperial warrant.

Made in Russia, Moscow, 1888, Assayer Viktor Vasilyevich Savinsky
Fully hallmarked.

Approx. Dimensions:
Length x width x height: 14.1 x 7.5 x 3.8 cm
Weight: 123 grams

Condition: Kovsh is in general usage, minor signs of age, good condition overall.

Ovchinnikov Pavel Akimovich - the founder of gold and silver jewellery manufacturing factory, one of the largest Moscow jewellery firms in the second half of 19th – early 20th centuries.

Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov was the bondman of Prince Volkonsky.

In 1851, he opened a workshop that by 1853 grew up to the factory of gold and silver jewellery.
From 1865, the factory became the Imperial Court supplier (the title was confirmed in 1881 and 1896). The affiliated branch was opened in St. Petersburg in 1873. In 1878, it became the official supplier of the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich court. In 1875, the master opened his own jewellery school for training goldsmiths and silversmiths for 130 talented children. The school received the silver medal at the exhibition in 1882.
The golden age of the company can be attributed to the 1870-1880's. After the death of Pavel Ovchinnikov in 1888, his sons inherited the factory At the Paris exhibition of 1900; they exhibited silver items, which drew attention "due to the novelty of painted enamel and technical complexity in manufacturing these objects". The factory existed until 1917.