Help with ID on copper mess kit

[Aragorn243]

Trying to figure out what this is. It's on the lid of what is ID'ed as a late 1800's Russian mess kit. The mess kit is well made of copper and I have been able to confirm imperial Russian marks on identical kits which also had dates in the late 1800's. This one is not the same however and I can find no similar example of either of the marks. Wondering if it is Russian or of one of the other nearby nations of the time.

[Sunray]

The unreliable source of Wikipedia says the 'K'(that should have a wee baron it too) is non-Slavic Cyrillic. And that the '3' is not Cyrillic at all.
It also says "Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, mandated the use of westernized letter forms in the early 18th century."
The picture is out of focus.

[Aragorn243]

It seems unlikely that the same mess kit would be in service for that long which would date it in the late 1600's to early 1700's. Peter the Great also doesn't appear with a Beard in the images I've checked. It does look like other writing around the images and the one on the right might be read.

I don't have the item in hand yet so can't do anything about the quality of the photo at present. Will see what I can do when it arrives.

I did try looking at other images. Alexander II and Nicholas II look like the only bearded ones in the time frame.

[Sunray]

Try doing a rubbing on the images. Soft pencil with tissue paper. Like the ones done with Medieval graves. Might let you see the image better.
I was thinking it might have been made in Germany and the stamps are maker's marks. The Russians were enamoured with Germany in those days. Just a WHAG.
The Peter reference is about the non-Cryllic "3.K." not that Pete had anything to do with making or issuing it. Pity the guy's head isn't complete. Assuming he's Royal, his hat can some times give him a date.
Oh and it's a wee bar, not a baron. Friggin' library key boards.

[Aragorn243]

Only description I have is that the one on the right looks like a priest. I'm not quite seeing it but it's blurry so who knows. Delivery notice is for next Monday. I'll keep you posted.

[Flying10uk]

Are you sure that the marking on the right isn't some sort of maker's mark or even all 3 markings, maker marks?

[Aragorn243]

Not sure of anything. They obviously can be makers marks. I am just aware that other examples of this same kit have the Russian Imperial eagle on them which also could be a makers mark for a different company. Or it could be an acceptance stamp, just don't know. Not many examples on the net that I've found, only three counting this one. The other two have the imperial eagle.

[browningautorifle]

Looking forward to just seeing the complete item once you have it in hand too...these look nice when cleaned up.

[Aragorn243]

Well, it arrived today. It is not what I was expecting. I was expecting something mess kit sized, 5 inches or so around. This thing is 10 inches deep and about 12 inches around. It's a damn cook pot of some sort. I don't have time to do anything with it at the moment so pics will have to wait. It's extremely well made and looks nice but if I knew it was a cook pot, I wouldn't have bid on the thing.

[browningautorifle]

It's a damn cook pot of some sort.

Yes, that was one I saw. They look like section cook sets. The smaller ones looked like German individual sets... You can always use it in the kitchen...?