Velikii Ustiug Niello Work in Silver

the Russian artistic trade that took shape in the city of Velikii Ustiug in the 18th century. Silver snuffboxes, cases, boxes, bottles, and so on were made with nielloed surfaces. Eighteenth-century works were richly ornamented and had drawings with entertaining subjects (by master craftsmen M. M. Klimshin, A. I. Moshnin, and others); 19th-century works were frequently decorated with documentary depictions of cities and geographical maps (the Zhilin family and others). In the mid-19th century, plant designs became prevalent; they were built around the contrast of light and dark and covered the entire surface of brooches, cufflinks, and the like (the master craftsman M. I. Koshkov). The trade died off by the early 20th century. A renaissance began in 1929 (studio directed by M. P. Chirkov). The Severnaia Chern’ Artel (since 1960, factory) has been operating since 1933 (artistic director, E. P. Shil’nikovskii). Its articles are decorated with carefully executed niello drawings that uniformly fill the surface.