An Important and Rare Pair of Russian Porcelain Vases from the Period of Alexander I. Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Pete... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

An Important and Rare Pair of Russian Porcelain Vases from the Period of Alexander I
Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, Period of Alexander I (1801-1825), circa 1820s
21-3/4 x 13-1/4 inches (55.2 x 33.7 cm)

PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, US;
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

LITERATURE:
A model of the same form is illustrated, Von Wolf, N.B., ИМПЕРАТОРСКИЙ ФАРФОРОВНЫЙ ЗАВОД 1744-1904, St. Petersburg, 2003 [reprint], p. 140.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Khmelnitskaya, E.S., ВАЗЫ ИМПЕРАТОРСКОГО ФАРФОРОВОГО ЗАВОДА. СОБРАНИЕ В. С. ГОЛУБЕВА. В 2-УХ Т. Мoscow, 2021.
Kudryavtseva, T, V., РУССКИЙ ИМПЕРАТОРСКИЙ ФАРФОР. Saint Petersburg, 2003.
Nikiforova, L.R., ДЕКОРАТИВНЫЕ ВАЗЫ КАЗЕННОГО ФАРФОРОВОГО ЗАВОДА ПЕРВОЙ ПОЛОВИНЫ XIX В. // ТРУДЫ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ЭРМИТАЖА: ИЗ ИСТОРИИ РУССКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ. Т. XXIII. London, 1983.
Odom A., Paintings on porcelain vases at Hillwood. // Antiques. Hillwood museum and gardens. March. 2003.
von Wolf, N.V., ИМПЕРАТОРСКИЙ ФАРФОРОВЫЙ ЗАВОД. 1744 - 1904 / СОСТ. Н.В. ВОЛЬФ, С.А. РОЗАНОВ, Н.М. СПИЛИОТИ, А.Н. БЕНУА, Saint Petersburg, 1906.


This extraordinarily rare pair of reticulated porcelain vases are striking examples of the work of the Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory at the height of the neoclassical period in the early 19th century. Other well-known examples of this rare form are known to exist: another pair with neoclassical decoration are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum ? ЭРФ - 5252/3 and are illustrated (cf. Wolf, p.140), a vase of the same model is in the collection of the State Pavlovsk Palace Museum-Preserve, and another single vase of the same model but with floral decoration was sold Sotheby's London, Russian Works of Art, Fabergé & Icons, June 9, 2023, lot 123. This is, however, the first large pair of Alexander I period vases to appear at auction in decades, and apparently the only pair extant outside of museum collections.

The carefully sculpted and reticulated model, a triumph of the modeler's art, has been associated by Dr. Tina Khmelnitskaya with the designs of sculptor Stepan Pimenov (1784-1833), whose work for the Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory on the Guriev Service between 1807-1814 clearly influenced this form. The model appears in a photograph in the archives of the Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory, identifying it as "Series 1" and recorded as from the period of Alexander I.

Khmelnitskaya further notes that the decoration of this pair of vases "of the highest order" is of particular note, featuring fountains and Hippocamps, images associated with the navigation and the sea, and theorizes that this pair of vases may have been intended as a gift to one of the admirals or naval commanders of the Imperial Russian Navy, or was perhaps intended for decoration of the Admiralty building in St. Petersburg, where august porcelain gifts were often received, and to the design of which Pimenov is known to have contributed.

Heritage Auctions thanks Dr. Tina Khmelnitskaya for her research on this lot, and permission to quote from it.

Please note this lot will remain at our New York office. The winning buyer will be responsible for arranging shipping from that location. Heritage will be happy to assist with these arrangements.



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