BY CARL HELFRIED BARB, MARKED, ST PETERSBURG 1831, AN UNKNOWN ASSAY MARK AND THE EXCISE MARK FOR GOLD

Carl Helfried Barb, one of the most celebrated Russian gold boxes makers, was born in Frankenthal in 1777. He emigrated to Russia and became a master in St Petersburg in 1799. He was elected and alderman of the foreigner's guild in 1806 but moved to the Russian guild in 1811 having taken Russian nationality. The present fully marked box is a particularly elegant example of his work.