Bowl - Silver - Russia

Ancient bowl, vessel for baptisms.

It was used to pour holy water over the child's head.

Origin : Germany or Russia.

On the handle, the Romanov Eagle with a sword and a globus cruciger. (with only one head)

entirely decorated with leaves and twisted ribbon.

Finely finished with a burin.

Three worn punches, one legible: R with a crown

History: After the collapse of the great empire in the 17th century, some territories of Western Europe that detached themselves from the Russian metropolis preserved the eagle as a state symbol, as if in this way claiming a part of the great empire's heritage and its history. However the right head of the eagle was removed. That is, as we now know, in the rebellious era of the 17th-18th centuries in Europe the imperial eagle had its eastern head cut off. Western Europeans kept for themselves only the western head of the eagle's coat of arms. Consequently, starting from the 17th-18th centuries, the majority of the state eagles of Western Europe look west with the only surviving head. From: "the Western Myth" chapter five.

A rare example of an object with a particularly complex history.