Anastasia Mikhailovna: An Important Imperial Russian Silver Tea Service, Nichols and Plinke, St. Petersburg, 1879

Estimate

320,000 - 380,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

comprising a Teapot, Hot Water Pot, Two-Handled Tray, Kettle with Stand and Lamp, a Hot Milk Jug, Creamer, a Covered Sugar Bowl, a Tea Strainer, Sugar Tongs, and Twenty-Four Tea Spoons, each piece engraved with the monogram MA beneath the Imperial crown, contained in original fitted oak traveling chest, the cover applied with a metal plaque engraved with the Imperial monogram of Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna, each piece marked Nichols and Plinke with Imperial warrant and also with the Cyrillic initials RK for Robert Colqhuon, proprietor of the firm (Kettle Stand apparently unmarked)
Length of Tray over Handles 33 1/8 in.
84.5 cm

the vessels with a band of geometric ornament entwined with ribbons and gilded interiors, the spoons with beaded borders and wreath tops

Provenance

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna

Condition

overall good condition; some minor scratching to the surface of some of the silver consistent with age and use, the handle of the strainer slightly bent, the kettle stand apparently unmarked
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna (1860-1922), grand-daughter of Emperor Nicholas I, was an extremely charismatic figure, remembered by friends and contemporaries as "very beautiful, tall, and slight with Grecian features and a small head, which she carried haughtily. In fact, she seemed the perfect princess." (Jamie H. Cockfield, White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919, London, 2002, 18.) In 1879, the year that this impressive tea service was produced, she married Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897). It was an important dynastic marriage since the Grand Duke was the younger brother of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, brother of Emperor Alexander III. The offered tea service was presumably made as a wedding gift or ordered from the fashionable St. Petersburg retailers and court suppliers Nichols & Plinke for her trousseau. The often unidentified Cyrillic maker's mark R.K. is for Robert Kokhun (Colqhoun), who, along with Heinrich Plinke, had bought out the firm in 1851. Colqhoun is usually recorded as having been active only between 1874 and 1883, however, Igor Sychev of the Hermitage Museum has more recently shown that Heinrich Plinke left the firm to Colqhoun after the former's retirement in 1865 and that Colqhoun, whose mark appears on a vast quantity of silver made for the court, ran the firm until at least 1878. See Igor Sychev, Russian Bronze, Moscow, 2003, p. 227. Sold with autographed photograph of Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna in a British gilt and velvet frame