An important silver tureen, cover and stand from the Petrovskii Service, Johan Friedrich Köpping, St Petersburg, ordered by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, circa 1750-1760

tureen: circular with bombé sides and two bracket handles, applied with fruit, foliage, scrolls and shells, the flared neck with shells and waves below the ovolo rim, the lower body with four crowned rocaille cartouches, two engraved P and two engraved with the arms of Russia and Holstein-Gottorp for Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich, later Emperor Peter III, on four ball and claw feet issuing from raised rocaille on wavy grounds, gilt interior, the base struck with maker's mark of Johan Friedrich Köpping, engraved No. 16, further struck 77 and with Cyrillic P?, prick-engraved in Cyrillic 'Sel'



cover: domed circular, applied with foliate swags between scrolling strapwork enclosing masks, alternating between two rocaille cartouches, one engraved with crowned P, the other with the arms of Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich, the baluster finial issuing from rocaille and cast in four reserves of fruit and flowers, gilt interior, the flange struck with maker's mark of Johan Friedrich Köpping, engraved No. 16, the interior struck 16 and prick-engraved in Cyrillic 'Sel'



stand: circular, the wide border cast with rocaille shellwork and lobes of fruit and flowers, the rim with lion masks, scrolls and shells, the centre engraved with a crowned cartouche enclosing initial P, the base engraved No. 33, further struck with numbers 2, 2, and 92, prick-engraved in Cyrillic 'Sel'

Ordered by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna for the use of her nephew and heir, Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich, at his summer residence at Oranienbaum

Transferred to the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, in 1762 on the orders of Empress Catherine II

Thence by descent in the Imperial collections until 1917

Recorded in documents dated 8 October 1917 as being contained in Box 31 of the large shipment of treasures transferred from the Winter Palace to Moscow on the orders of the Provisional Government  (We are grateful to Svetlana Chestnykh for this reference.)

Sold, Ball & Graupe, Berlin, 25 September 1930, lot 18 (We are grateful to Alexander von Solodkoff for this reference.)

Acquired by Bernheimer, Munich, from whom purchased by the godfather of the present owner, from whom inherited

This is an impressive and beautifully made piece with a rich history and is remarkable for its weight. Its condition is generally good/ very good, suggesting that it was well-cared for whilst in the Imperial collections, as expected, and afterward. Although the current owners have used it only once in the last several decades, preferring to have it stored away, it apparently saw some use at the Imperial table before the Revolution. The most significant condition issue is some bending along the inner rim of the lid; as a result the lid does not rest perfectly on the body of the tureen; this could probably be improved by a competent silversmith. There is wear to the engraved crowned Ps and coats-of-arms, especially those within the smaller cartouches of the lower body of the tureen; those of the lid are less worn and the most legible. The raised (chased, cast, applied) decoration is generally crisp and in very good condition, the exception being the ovolo rim which is rather worn. There are shallow dents to the stand near the centre, also surface scratches where the legs of the tureen rest. The undecorated surface of the tureen body has nicks; this area also has faint surface scratches. There is wear to the interior gilding, and some scratches at the interior from use. Owing to the thickness of the silver, the protruding elements (finial, legs, handles) are perfectly sound and unbent.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Russian Imperial Court reached new heights of splendour during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1709-1762, r. 1742-1762).  Notoriously extravagant and vain, she spent prodigiously on herself and on furnishing the Imperial palaces.  In 1742, the childless Empress chose as her heir her nephew, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, henceforth known in Russia as Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich, later Emperor Peter III (1728-1762, r. 1762).  Following his 1745 marriage to Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, later Empress Catherine II (1729-1796, r. 1762-1796), she installed the young couple in the grand ducal residence at Oranienbaum on the outskirts of St Petersburg.  It was for this summer residence, grandly refurbished and furnished in accord with the Empress' lavish tastes, that the Petrovskii Silver Service was commissioned in the 1750s.   

Following Catherine the Great's coup d'état in 1762, deposing her husband, the new Empress, with a tenuous hold on power, wanted the security of having the most valuable Imperial treasures with her in St Petersburg and thus ordered the suburban palaces cleared of their most expensive objects.  The Petrovskii Service was moved to the Winter Palace, recorded as being received in that year from Lieutenant Sel'vin (or Seniavin) from Oranienbaum and thus engraved "Sel", though it has also been suggested that "Sel" may be an abbreviation of "selskiy" indicating that the objects were transferred from the countryside.

In his 1907 inventory of the Imperial silver services, Foelkersam records just six Petrovskii tureens, four circular and two oval (see Baron A. de Foelkersam, Inventaire de l'Argenterie, conservée dans les Gardes-meubles des Palais impériaux: Palais d'Hiver, Palais Anitchkov et Château de Gatchina, St Petersburg, 1907, vol. II, p. 507).  One presumes that the original service was vast, as surviving examples of the tureens are numbered as high as 17.  It is likely that most pieces were destroyed at the end of the 18th century during the reign of Emperor Paul, when much Imperial silver was melted for coin.  The oval tureens are unmarked and of indeterminate date.  Foelkersam writes (vol. I, p. XXI) that the oval tureen he illustrates is 'probably German work, beginning of the XVIIIth century, lacking marks.'  Indeed the rather Germanic decoration of the oval tureens, including wild boars and deer, seem to support a German attribution.  The style and weight of the oval tureens, however, are inconsistent with silver wares produced during the reign of Peter the Great; Foelkersam's dating of them to the early 18th century is questionable and has led to some confusion, with 'Petrovskii' erroneously stated as referring to Peter the Great rather than Peter III.  It seems more likely that the entire service was produced in the middle of the century, the circular tureens by Köpping, the oval tureens possibly by a German silversmith and therefore unmarked.  Foelkersam confirms that the circular examples were struck only with Köpping's maker's mark.

Of the six Petrovskii Service tureens recorded in 1907, two are today in the Hermitage, one oval (inv. no. 4600) and one circular (inv. no. 5153; see Z. Bernyakovitch, Russian Silver Wares of the XVIIIth – the Beginning of XXth Century in the State Hermitage Collection, Leningrad, 1977, illus. pls. 59 and 67; the oval tureen also illustrated in Russian Silver of the Centuries: 16th – Early 20th, St Petersburg, 2004, p. 75).  An oval tureen is in the Russian Museum, St Petersburg (inv. no. cep 1453), transferred there from the Hermitage in 1939 (see V. Pushkariov, ed., Russian Applied Art: Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Century, Leningrad, 1976, p. 189, illus., pl. 15, described as mid-18th century but mistakenly identified as 'from Peter the Great's dinner service').  A circular tureen sold, Christie's Geneva, 19 May 1998, lot 136 (also identified as being 'from the Peter the Great Service').  The whereabouts of the sixth tureen, presumably circular, is unknown.  (See also M. Lopato, The Jewellers of Old St Petersburg, St Petersburg, 2006, p. 38.)

Johan Friedrich Köpping produced wares for the Imperial court from 1750 to 1782 and, in 1764, was named Court Keeper of Plate.  Acknowledged by Foelkersam (vol. I, p. 79) as 'one of the best, if not the best, of the St Petersburg silversmiths of the XVIIIth century,' Köpping also produced additions to Catherine the Great's Paris Service by Germain and to her First and Second Travelling Services.  The volume of Imperial silver delivered to his workshops for production was so great that, in 1763, whilst making the First Silver Service, Köpping was placed under the supervision of a Lieutenant Moller of the Preobrazhenskii Guards, with six soldiers and a sergeant, 'to ensure that no silver or money could be abstracted' (see Foelkersam, vol. I, pp. 64-65, and A. von Solodkoff, Russian Gold and Silver, London, 1981, p. 22).