Podstakannik
A Podstakannik ( Russian подстаканник ; под, pod - "under"; стакан, stakan - "glass"; literally "thing or something under the glass") is the traditional Russian glass holder with a handle, with which the hot tea glasses are safely in the hand can be held.
production
Most Russian podstakanniki are made in the city of Kolchugino in Vladimir Oblast , which is on the Moscow – Belkovo – Ivanovo railway line (172 km from Moscow). The Moscow merchant Alexander Grigoryevich Kolchugin (1839–1899) founded Kolchugino in 1871 as a workers' settlement next to his factory for products made of copper, later also for precious metals and alloys. To date, the plants produce Koltschugzmetmet and Koltschug-Mizar AG based on the century-old tradition of eating utensils and - cutlery and Podstakanniki.
In the Soviet Union, ordinary podstakanniki were made from cheap nickel-silver or copper-nickel alloys. More expensive glass holders, the majority of which were intended for export, were silver-plated or gold-plated.
Today the common podstakanniki are made from a nickel-copper-zinc alloy, which is also known as nickel silver or hotel silver. Due to its high nickel content, this is characterized by its particular hardness and corrosion resistance. More expensive glass holders get a decorative coating of silver or gold. Podstakanniki made of pure silver are occasionally made, but due to their good thermal conductivity, they are not particularly practical. In the artist town of Mstjora in the Vladimir Oblast, 250 km northeast of Moscow, precious chased glass holders are also made today.
design
The design of the glass holder itself has hardly changed for over 100 years, since the shape is determined by the function: The tea drinker should be able to hold the hot tea glass by the handle of the glass holder in his hand without risk and it should stand safely on the table in moving trains stay.
In contrast, the contemporary motifs with which the podstakanniki are decorated changed. Entire glass holder series on memorial days, former Soviet hero cities , contemporary architecture and prominent personalities give Podstakanniki collectors a good overview of Russian and Soviet history.
In the case of the cheaper glass holders, the motifs are embossed into the alloy using a tool, while the more expensive Podstakanniki are laser-engraved into the gold or silver coating.
Web links
- Podstakanniki on mintorgmuseum.ru (Russian)