Pair of Silver Cups “Ruslan and Ludmila” – Pushkin Series, 925 Silver Gold-Plated Inside with Niello

An abducted bride, a bearded sorcerer, a giant head with a helmet: “Ruslan and Ludmila” (also spelled “Ludmilla”) is Pushkin’s verse epic, a hero’s adventure in the guise of the fairy-tale world. Two silver cups in 925 silver, gold-plated inside, bring two of its strongest images to the table. The cups suit people who love operas, books and great stories.

The giant head and the rider

On the first cup an enormous head with a helmet and a long beard fills the picture field. The second shows Ruslan on horseback, the animal rearing, the rider looking ahead. Both scenes are made by hand, stroke next to stroke, between strong tendrils. The foot gleams silver, the rim and the inside golden.

Abducted on the wedding evening

On the evening of her wedding, Ludmila, daughter of the prince of Kyiv, vanishes without a trace. The sorcerer Chernomor has abducted her. Ruslan sets out, meets a giant head guarding a sword, and fights his way to the bride. It is a verse epic, not a fairy tale in the narrower sense, yet it reads like one. Mikhail Glinka made an opera of it. The same adventure is carried to the table by the silver cutlery Ruslan and Ludmila.

A drawing that sits in the metal

A drawing that goes under the skin of the metal: permanently fired in, not applied. That is niello, it comes from Veliky Ustyug, where the art has been documented since 1683. The polish sets the final accent, not too much and not too little, so that the contrast is right. Paris 1937 brought the Artel Severnaya Chern of the time a gold medal, for tableware with Pushkin motifs; the manufactory’s history is available online.

For connoisseurs and great celebrations

The pair suits the wedding anniversary, the silver wedding anniversary, a round anniversary or the birthday of a person who loves books and operas. As a collector’s piece it stands beside the cutlery of the same story; at Christmas or as a business gift it convinces by origin and effect. Anyone laying the table for six at once should look at the cutlery case with 24 pieces.

Questions about the Ruslan and Ludmila cups

Is it spelled Ludmila or Ludmilla?
Both forms are in use. We write “Ludmila”; the strict transliteration from Russian is “Lyudmila”, and “Ludmilla” also appears, for example in opera guides. More pieces are shown in the collection Pushkin’s Tales in Niello Silver.

Can I clean with baking soda or aluminium foil?
No, both attack niello. Rinse by hand, dry immediately, never in the dishwasher; gentle repolishing is enough. Details in the niello guide.

What does the 925 stamp say?
The silver is 925 parts pure out of 1,000, so sterling silver, and thus something different from thinly silver-plated metal.

How many cups come with it?
Two, both with gold and niello, but each with a scene of its own. You receive them together in the wooden box; water, wine or vodka is what you drink.

How does the gift become personal?
First with the engraving service, which you order with the cups. You record the desired text in the “order note at checkout”, and afterwards we check with SevChern what can be executed and refund the flat fee to you if the engraving is not possible. Second with a SilberVerse: a verse that picks up the occasion and names, free on request.