The refined decoration of these cylindrical chalices, gently flared towards the top, is achieved by the contrast between the two bands with a perfectly smooth and polished surface, at the base and the upper rim, and the central part of the body, lavishly decorated with racemes and plant volutes in niello on silver that stand out against a coarse gilded surface, created through dense chiselled tapping.
Moscow was one of the major centres of production of niello objects, as is confirmed by the provenance of the two chalices in question, made by a silversmith whose name has not survived, but whose initials “AK” can be found on numerous objects produced between 1835 and 1849 that show precise executive and decorative similarities with the two Coronini pieces.
Il niello, tecnica antichissima che consiste nel riempire i solchi incisi su una superficie in metallo con un impasto di colore scuro, composto da argento, rame, piombo e zolfo in proporzioni variabili, fu largamente impiegato da orafi e argentieri russi sin dal X secolo, dando vita ad una tradizione che raggiunse il suo apogeo nel XVI secolo, ma che ancora nell’Ottocento continuò ad esprimersi in opere di grande originalità.
