1 / 3
Premium MILLON
350
-
A rare and important polychrome earthenware vase in the neo-…
See original version (French)
350
-
A rare and important polychrome earthenware vase in the neo-…
See original version (French)
Estimate €10,000 - €12,000
Voluntary lot
Description
A rare and important polychrome earthenware vase in the neo-Russian style,
Supported by two griffins, emblem of the Romanovs, forming the side handles, decorated in relief with multicoloured friezes with stylised cartouches inlaid with ivy leaf motifs, edged with pearl friezes, the upper rim decorated with 8-pointed stars. The griffins are decorated with imitation feathers and spirals, the tails with geometric motifs in shades of yellow and green-turquoise. The whole resting on a four-lobed brown earthenware base.
Chips and missing pieces.
Kouznetsov Manufactory, Doulevo (Moscow oblast), circa 1890.
Hollow marks under the base and numbers "671" and "23".
H. 35 x W. 38 x D. 20.5 cm
History
This vase is based on a design by Alexander Stepanovich Kaminsky (1829-1897), a Moscow architect and artist, who was also a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and brother-in-law of the famous collector P. M. Tretiakov. Kaminsky was renowned for creating decorative objects inspired by what he himself defined as the "Russian" style. This vase, decorated with griffins, is one of his designs from around 1880.
This design was first created by Semyon Ivanovich Maslennikov, a talented engineer and ceramist who had been running an earthenware factory in the Tver region since 1879. At the All-Russian Exhibition of Art and Industry held in Moscow in 1882, Maslennikov's work was hailed by experts as a "rich expression of Russian art and national industry". It is highly likely that this vase with griffins, which was unique at the time, was presented there.
A few years later, the model designed by Kaminsky was taken over by M. S. Kuznetsov's prestigious porcelain factory. Maslennikov, having sold his Tver factory, joined the manufactory in 1889 and brought with him several models and prototypes from his earlier production, including the griffin vase. One of these, made by Kuznetsov, adorned the mantelpiece of the famous Russian-style dining room in Kuznetsov's Moscow home at 1 Meshchanskaya Street.
At the beginning of the 1890s, the factory produced a limited series for sale. According to contemporary accounts: "The originality and beauty of Russian-style objects based on Kaminsky's designs are without equal in Russia (...) Kuznetsov has managed to equal the earthenware of Mr Maslennikov...".
Related works
- An identical vase is in the collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow (no. ГИМ 112833).
- A vase in a comparable style was featured in the Russian Art sale at Sotheby's on 30 November 2016, lot 126A (sold for €34,449).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like