Rectangular snuffbox in silver with niello. Veliky Ustyug, 1824. On one side is represented the map of the Vologda government. On the belt are engraved the coats of arms of the districts of the Vologda government. On the bottom, the cuttable population of the government according to the seventh census. Hallmarks: 84, Vologda 1824, assayer "М-И" (Matveï Ivanov Igoumnov) and silversmith "ФБ" (Fedor Klimov Bouchkovsky). 8.8 x 5.2 x 1.9 cm; gross weight: 174 g Snuffboxes with the map of the Vologda government are specific to the best goldsmiths specializing in niello in Veliky Ustug: Ivan Petrov Zhilin, followed by his son Alexander and Fedor Klimov Buchkovsky. They all have the belt decorated with the coats of arms of the districts (ouezd) of this government and on the bottom a statistic of the population according to the last census. Nine examples of these works are preserved in major Russian museums: - in the Russian Museum, a round snuffbox by Ivan Petrov Zhilin (inv. no. ОНИ/М-839) from 1794 with the map of the province of Vologda (turned into a government by the reform of 1796) - at the Hermitage Museum, a round snuffbox with no goldsmith mentioned (but most certainly by Ivan Zhilin) (inv. no. ЭРО-2427) dated from the end of the 18th century and a rectangular snuffbox by Fedor Klimov Bouchkovsky (inv. no. ЭРО-2512) dated 1815 - in the Historical Museum, two round snuffboxes of Ivan Zhilin(inv. no. ОК 293) from 1806 and (inv. no. ОК 292) from 1811, two rectangular snuffboxes of his son Alexander Zhilin (inv. ОК 291) of 1820-1830 and (inv. no. ОК 13353) of 1824 and two rectangular snuffboxes by Fedor Bouchkovsky (inv. no. ОК 286) of 1817 and (inv. no. ОК 284) of 1829. Three examples are in the collections of prestigious American museums: - from Fedor Klimov Bouchkovsky, a round copy dated 1816 in the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, NH (no. 159.2.19474 ) - of the same, a rectangular copy dated 1822 is in the Hillwood Museum in Washington DC (Cat. N° 13.27 ) - the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a rectangular example dated 1823 without indication of the silversmith (n° 1992.174). At least six examples have been sold at public auction: - by Ivan Zhilin two round models around 1800 and 1811 sold by Sotheby's ( lot 365 in 2008 and lot 567 on October 19, 2022) - by Fedor Klimov Bouchkovsky, three rectangular models of 1812, 1814 (without the coat of arms belt) and 1819 sold by Sotheby's (lot 462 on 27 November 2012, lot 78 on 17 June 2020 and lot 219 on 2 December 2020) - by Alexander Zhilin, a rectangular model dated 1823 sold by Christie's on April 14, 2005 (lot 48 sale 1499) Three other later rectangular examples by Vologda silversmiths were sold by Christie's: one of 1839 by an unidentified silversmith (lot 65 sale 5803 of June 12, 1997), one of 1843 by another unidentified silversmith (lot 208 sale 5265 of November 30, 2007) and one of 1849 by Mikhail Tchoulkov (lot 47 sale 1499 of April 14, 2005). Michel Brodsky Collection - lots from 92 to 154 [Russian art]