East Asia, Japan, Meiji to Taisho period, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. An adorable pairing of a sterling silver abacus shaker and tub-shaped cruet with a spoon. This petite abacus is a miniature version of the counting tool with beads that move upon thin bars to indicate digits. This abacus has small door that slides open at the back for filling with salt or pepper. Two top corners of the frame have perforations for the flakes to sift through. The other item is a silver cruet basket shaped like a wooden tub or barrel that rests on four feet. The top has two rounded openings for inserting a removable glass bowl and a tubular shaker with small perforations on the top. A dainty spoon with a rounded finial completes the set. The abacus and cruet are stamped with "Sterling" on their bases. Size of abacus: 2" L x .5" W x .75" H (5.1 cm x 1.3 cm x 1.9 cm); cruet: 1.75" L x 1.25" W x 1.375" H (4.4 cm x 3.2 cm x 3.5 cm); quality of silver: 92% to 97%; weight of both: 71.8 grams Provenance: ex-Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2010 All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm. Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping. #163987