Tabatiere niellé Russe with view of St Petersburg Palace

Silver snuffbox nielloed with foliate motifs, with a lid decorated with an enamel miniature in a gold frame depicting a view of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg along the Neva River, built for the Tsars and now the Hermitage Museum.
City hallmark: Moscow, 84 Zolotniki
Date circa 1840
AP hallmark: Alexander Palmen in Tammisaari, where Erik Kollin was apprenticed and later became Fabergé's head silversmith.
Poids: 144 gr ( 5.07 oz)
Hallmark: HA (Assay master Nikolai Lukich Dubrovin)

Niello is a silversmithing technique that involves applying niello, a black metallic sulfide including copper, silver and often even lead or borax, filling the recessed patterns of chisel-engraved metal with this molten alloy; the nielloed surface is then polished to remove the excess added metal.