OVCHINNIKOV SILVER-GILT TEA SET IN JAPANESE STYLE comprising a tray and 6 teacups Russia, Moscow, the ‘P.A. Ovchinnikov’ Factory, circa 1885

Marks: maker’s mark in Cyrillic «P. OVCHINNIKOV» (Pavel Ovchinnikov, Moscow, 1851- 1917), Moscow city mark and assay mark ‘AR 1885’ silver, silver gilt, red lacquer Comprising 7 pieces: tray with spiderweb in relief with a spider and dragonfly, 6 tea cups with raised reeds, dragonflies and fish decor tray 33 x 33 cm, cup height 7.7 cm total weight 1.856 gr. in original wooden box by the P. Ovchinnikov Factory The factory of Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov ranks, in terms of importance and value, in the first category of jewellers and goldsmiths in Russia before the Revolution. As a goldsmith, Pavel Ovchinnikov opened a company producing gold and silver articles in Moscow in 1851, which later became world famous. The company repeatedly received large orders from the Imperial Court. In 1865, the company was appointed ‘Regular Supplier to the Court of Tsarevich Alexander’ (the future Emperor Alexander III) and was elevated to the rank of ‘Supplier to the Imperial Court’. In 1872, the company was awarded the title ‘Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty’, and in 1878, the title ‘Supplier to the Court of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich’, and from 1872 onwards, the Factory was able to stamp its products with the coat of arms of the Russian Empire.