Empress Alexandra Feodorovna: An Important Russian Art Nouveau Imperial Porcelain Vase. Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Pe...

Description

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna: An Important Russian Art Nouveau Imperial Porcelain Vase
Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, Period of Nicholas II (1896-1917), circa 1904
25-1/8 x 14-3/4 inches (63.8 x 37.5 cm)

PROVENANCE:
Presented to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna by the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Christmas 1904, at a cost of 800 rubles;
Tsarskoe Selo Collections, until 1918;
Private Collection, US.

ILLUSTRATED:
Von Wolf, N.B., ИМПЕРАТОРСКИЙ ФАРФОРОВНЫЙ ЗАВОД 1744-1904, St. Petersburg, 2003 [reprint], p. 318, plate 491.


On Christmas Day in 1904, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna received an extraordinary gift from the Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory-an exquisite Art Nouveau vase adorned with irises, echoing the delicate floral motifs of her famed Lilac Study, or as it is better known the "Mauve Boudoir". The empress' study at the Alexander Palace had been commissioned by the Empress in 1895 and was completed in 1896. It was emblematic of her taste and was a noted change from the manner in which the previous empresses had lived. As a young woman, the empress was drawn to the modern styles of French Art Nouveau and German Jugendstil, with which she was very familiar, and the Lilac Salon, with its pale lilac silk-covered walls and an Art Nouveau frieze of irises intertwined with ribbons completed by the painter Alexandrov in 1896.

The period between the accession of Nicholas II and 1910 was a rich and changing one for the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Many new forms were invented for vases with wide, flat sides suitable for painting, stripped of the molded classical ornamental elements of the periods of Catherine II through Nicholas I, and the exotic or historicist styles favored in the periods of Alexander III and Alexander III began to fade. Artists looked to the work of the Sèvres Factory in France, and also at the work of the Royal Copenhagen Factory (a favorite of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was, before her marriage, Princess Dagmar of Denmark).

These elegant landscape and floral paintings, which conjured up Russia's vast and misty forests, and the soft, crepuscular light of its meadows and fields became exceptionally popular, replacing the taste for heavy, gilded, double-eagle-strewn urns and vases. The work created for the empress was no less impressive: standing nearly 24 inches tall, this sumptuous trumpet-form vase, valued at 800 rubles, was a testament to the finest craftsmanship of the era, and was added to the collections at Tsarskoe Selo.


Eva Kordes (1866 - 1945)

The artist responsible for the elegant painting of this work was the Eva Kordes, celebrated for her mastery of porcelain-painting techniques and her miniature en plein enamel work. Kordes would play a pivotal role in shaping the artistic legacy of the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Trained in France at the prestigious Sèvres and Limoges factories, she brought a refined sensibility to her collaborations with fellow artists, painting delicate, watery floral compositions and landscapes on vases, plates, and Easter eggs. In addition to her work in porcelain, Kordes' artistic works on paper were prominently featured in elite exhibitions, including those of the Russian Imperial Society of Watercolorists.

After the Russian Revolution, Kordes briefly led the Museum of the former Imperial Porcelain Factory where she attempted to preserve the imperial legacy under Bolshevik authority. Kordes fled Russia in 1922, ultimately establishing herself in Paris, where she continued to influence European porcelain artistry during the Art Deco period.

This imperial vase, offered at auction for the first time, is recognized for both its provenance and its artistic excellence; it was highlighted as an exceptional example of the factory's work in Baron Wolf's seminal publication on the Imperial Porcelain Factory, cementing its place in history as a masterpiece of the Russian decorative arts.



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