A Russian En Plein and Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Kovsh after Makovsky's Boyar Wedding. Feodor Rüc...

Description

A Russian En Plein and Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Kovsh after Makovsky's Boyar Wedding
Feodor Rückert, Moscow, 1908-1917, with scratched inventory number 83 in two places
4-1/4 x 3-1/4 x 5-7/8 inches (10.8 x 8.3 x 14.9 cm)
272 grams

PROVENANCE:
Sotheby's New York, Important Russian Enamels and Fabergé from a New York Private Collection, November 4, 2010, lot 18;
John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington, acquired from the above;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.


Feodor Rückert often drew inspiration from the historicist paintings of Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915) to adorn the en plein reserves of his enamel works. Makovsky's images, particularly his detailed depictions of boyars from pre-Petrine Russia, were highly valued and widely sought after by Russian enamel collectors. These works, created during a time of significant social change in Russia, recalled the national traditions of an age lost to western influence and the arrival of the modern era. In this kovsh, Rückert omits a figure from the original painting, that of the svakha (matchmaker) from the bride's right, to focus on the tender and romantic moment between the newlywed couple. The offered lot bears a monogram in Russian reading: IV.

Dr. Karen Kettering notes that Rückert's repeated use of this vignette in his work reflects more than the popularity of the image, and suggests that these pieces may have been executed, purchased and cherished as wedding or anniversary gifts. A box by Rückert from the Nelkin Collection depicting a larger detail of this scene from Boyar Wedding, was sold in these rooms, May 17, 2024, lot 82152, and for an enamel tray featuring an image of the full painting see Sotheby's, New York, April 26, 2006, lot 279. A similar but slightly larger kovsh by Rückert is part of the collection at Hillwood Museum & Gardens, and was featured in the exhibition "Konstantin Makovsky: The Tsar's Painter in America & Paris", and is illustrated in the catalog (Hillwood/D Giles Ltd., 2025), page 48, fig. 37.

Masterpieces of Russian Enamel from an Important American Collection



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