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Nick's Picks
Nick Nicholson | Trusts & Estates | Business Development
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Every sale tells a specific story, and our second auction of Imperial Fabergé & Russian Works of Art is no exception. Our last sale was a powerful tale of Romanov patronage and taste, focusing on the art and style of St. Petersburg. This auction is a full history of the art of Russian enamel from the 17th century through the 20th and is a tribute to the art and taste of Moscow. Here are a few works in the upcoming sale that each tell a part of the story of the development of the art of enamel in Russia before the revolution, and which caught my eye as unusual and different.
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This work is the earliest piece of enamel in the sale, and it occupies an unusual position in the development of Russian enamel. Enamel came to Russia from Byzantium, and the earliest works of this type in Russia were copies of Byzantine jewelry and later, ecclesiastical works. By the end of the 17th century, enamel was still primarily used for religious purposes, but the influence of Italian taste had already begun to enter the Russian consciousness and Italian ceramics prints arrived in Russia having a lasting effect on design. In the 16th and 17th
centuries, Solvychegodsk, then called Usol'sk, was a powerful center of the decorative arts where the Stroganov family were patrons, and where their cosmopolitan taste had a real impact. This bowl is a bridge between religious and secular enamel production. The biblical scenes from Luke are augmented by texts derived from scripture, but the florid flowers and portraits on the bowl's underside are striking. Usol'sk became later known for its exuberant flower painting, and this bowl, with its very early floral and figural decoration is the ancestor of all the floral and en plein enamel work we will see coming from artists such as Rückert and Semenova two hundred years later. A rare and exceptional piece of real importance.
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Today, collectors are obsessed with condition, and in many cases rightly so, but this exquisite box reminds all of us that sometimes, things happen. This box with its impeccable white guilloche enamel and clean modern lines started out life enameled in steel grey – but en route
from London to Bangkok, where it was likely intended to join the Siamese royal collection, this box had an accident. We have the insurance claim showing that this box was wrecked and sent back to Fabergé, who collected insurance on the damage. Fabergé themselves re-enameled the piece, which today in its second state, is in fantastic condition. But this beautiful box which has been around the world has had two lives already and is a gentle reminder that all Russian objects have a tumultuous past, and what is visible to the naked eye (or the black light) is rarely the entire story!
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It may be unprofessional to say so, but frankly, I am obsessed with this box. The work of enameller Feodor Rückert, the box was retailed by the Swedish jeweler Bolin, a major supplier of jewels to the Russian Imperial Court. Conversely, Bolin also retailed Russian works in Sweden. This box, with its abstracted forest scenes is definitely in the modern pan-Slavic style of which Rückert was the undisputed master, yet there is something distinctly universal in its depiction of the forests shared by Russia and the Scandinavian countries – the mushrooms, conifers, hedgehogs, rabbits and owls have a comic and charming presence which I love.
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This sale is all about Feodor Rückert, whose works were sought all over the world, and whom every retailer in Russia wanted to sell. Khlebnikov, Fabergé, Tiffany & Co. and Kurlyukov all sold works by the master, and this box was exactly what they wanted: a beautiful pan-Slavic style surround, and an en plein
enamel plaque covered with images of Russian beauties. This box is also unusual for the presence of six figures, all exquisite. But the box also tells another story: that of retailing in imperial Russia. The box was made by Rückert and bears his mark. However, it also bears the stamps of Fabergé and Kurlyukov, two exceptional retailers. How did this box get offered by three different retailers? Years ago, a work like this might have been dismissed as a forgery, but today it stands out as a unique and exceptional piece, one which shows that three of the greatest dealers of enamel in Moscow thought that this particular work was worthy of their name.
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"Boar" by Princess Tenisheva has been in every press release and has been up front at Heritage as one of the most important works in the sale, and one of the most potentially valuable. For me, however, the work is important because it is the end of the story that begins with the Usol'sk bowl; the Solvychegodsk bowl marks the beginning of Russian enamel emerging from a small town near Moscow, and this work marks the end. Created and executed in Paris, in exile after the revolution of 1905, this piece is a memory and an interpretation of the ancient pagan Russia which preceded the Romanovs. "Boar" is not just a decorative object, he is a work of Russian symbolism and an icon in the history of the Russian decorative arts, and I am personally honored to have been a part of its rediscovery.
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Nick Nicholson
Trusts & Estates,
Business Development
NickN@HA.com
(212) 486-3570
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