Lot 229A: A Jewelled and Gold-Mounted Guilloché Enamel Imperial Presentation Snuff-Box

A Jewelled and Gold-Mounted Guilloché Enamel Imperial Presentation Snuff-Box
Cyrillic mark of K. Hahn and with the workmaster's initials of Carl Blank, St. Petersburg, 1892-1896
Oval, enameled overall in royal blue over a wavy sunburst ground, the hinged cover applied with the central diamond-set crowned cypher of Emperor Nicholas II above a ribbon-tied laurel spray, within a gold leaf-tip chased border, fully marked
3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) long

The Art of the Goldsmith & Jeweler, A La Vieille Russie, New York, 6-23 November, 1968, No. 299

The Art of the Goldsmith & Jeweler, A La Vieille Russie, New York, 1968, p. 114, No. 299, illustrated

PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Karl Hahn, an Austrian, established his business in 1873 and eventually became an important supplier to the Imperial Court, receiving the title of purveyor to the Court during the reign of Emperor Alexander III. In 1896, Hahn was appraiser of the cabinet and in 1898 was made a hereditary honorary citizen. The title of purveyor to the Court was renewed for Karl Hahn's son Dmitrii Karlovich in 1903, who became a merchant of the First Guild in 1907. At the time of Dmitrii Hahn's death in 1911, the business was dissolved. The production of the firm was handled primarily in the workshops of Carl Blank and Alexander Treiden, who worked exclusively for Hahn. The firm's many commissions to the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty included the coronation crown of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, diamond insignia of various orders, and presentation jewellery, cigarette cases and snuff-boxes. Based on the research of Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, Hahn supplied the cabinet with 59 snuff-boxes with the Sovereign's cypher between 1894 and 1917 (U. Tillander-Godenhielm, The Russian Imperial Award System, 1894-1917, Helsinki, 2005, pp. 179-184).

Carl Blank, born in Finland the son of a blacksmith, served as the head workmaster of Hahn from 1892 to 1909. In 1894 he established his own workshop and became a merchant of the Second Guild. From 1909-1911, Blank worked in partnership with Hahn and, when the firm closed, established his own business. He continued as a supplier to the cabinet and in 1915 was appointed appraiser of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty. In 1917, Blank was made a hereditary honorary citizen.

For a comparable Imperial presentation snuff-box by Carl Blank for Hahn, see Geza Von Habsburg, Fabergé: Imperial Craftsman and His World, London, 2000, p. 336, No. 907, illustrated. This snuff-box was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 8 December, 1992, lot 184.