FABERGE - RUSSIAN SILVER BEAR, MARKED IP

FABERGE - RUSSIAN SILVER BEAR, MARKED IP
With garnet set eyes, maker's mark IP to base of foot. Early 20th C.
The item has a few marks: 88 for silver and I.P. for Julius Alexandrovitch Rappoport, Russian silversmith, Faberge workmaster.
LARGE SIZE: L. 10.8 cm (4 1/4 inches). Weight: 214 grams.
ESTIMATE PRICE: $3000 - $4000.
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago this item was sold for $3.250 - please see the screenshot.
PAY in PARTS: You can pay for any item during 2 - 3 months. Just make a deposit 10% and the item will wait for you.
SHIPPING: Combined shipping is available - next item will be ONE dollar for shipping.
WORKMASTER: Julius Alexandrovitch Rappoport, Russian silversmith, Faberge workmaster. Born in 1864. Trained in Berlin, one of Faberge's rare craftsmen of Jewish origin. Julius Rappoport opened his first own workshop in St. Petersburg at Ekateriniski Canal in 1883, then he moved to Moscow to become a Faberge workmaster. His maker's mark was IP and in Russian Cyrillic. He belonged from 1886 till 1908 to four 'workmasters', main leaders of Faberge workshops. He was the Faberge's most important supplier of large silver objects. He is best known for his naturalistic animal figures (massive silver casts), but he also executed special commissions for the Imperial Family, the Imperial Cabinet and noble families Yousupov an others. Recently a few of these special commissions that were designed by Faberge, and made by Rappoport, have been auctioned by Bonhams and Christies in London(England) and in Munich. Samples of his work include a massive silver dishes and table decorations, such as: 1) tankard with two handles in a form of elephants for the Danish royal family- 2) tankard made in St. Petersburg, circa 1908 which he retailed in Moscowith 3) silver enamel decorated Eggs made in St. Petersburg circa 1883. This tankard, with gently waisted sides, is set with twelve silver roubles, each depicting a monarch in profile, including Peter the Great, Catherine I, Anna, Elizabeth, Peter III of Russia, Catherine II, Paul I of Russia, Alexander I, Nicholas I of Russia, Alexander II of Russia, Alexander III of Russia. What makes his work unique is the fact that you can see the rouble coins on both sides - inside the shell and of course, on the outside. His workshop was taken over by the First Silver Artel around 1909. Died in 1916.

WIKIPEDIA: Peter Carl Faberge, also known as Karl Gustavovich Faberge was a Russian jeweller best known for the famous Faberge eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials. He's the founder of the famous jewelry legacy House of Faberge.The House of Faberge is a jewelry firm founded in 1842 in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, by Gustav Faberge, using the accented name Faberge, Gustav's sons Peter Carl Faberge and Agathon Faberge, and grandsons followed him in running the business until it was nationalised by the Bolsheviks in 1918.