Lot 113
  • 113

Vasily Grachev (1831-1905), An equestrian figure of Ivan the Terrible

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
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Description

  • bronze
  • height 12 5/8 in., 32 cm
the base inscribed in Cyrillic Lep. Grachev and K. Verfel

Provenance

Acquired in Moscow in the 1930's by Dr. Adolphus S. Rumreich, Medical Officer at the US Embassy
Thence by descent

Condition

overall good condition; would benefit from a professional cleaning
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

This figure of Ivan the Terrible on horseback is part of a larger composition titled "Tsar's Hunt, or the Hunt of Ivan the Terrible" modeled after the scene described in Aleksei Tolstoy's novel The Silver Prince. (For another figure from this group, see lot 114.) A cast of the large composition was sold Sotheby's New York, 16 April 2013, lot 5. A similar bronze in the collection of the State Russian Museum (inv. no. Sk-746) is illustrated in L.P. Shaposhnikova, Skulptura XVIII-nachalo XX veka, Leningrad, 1988, no. 327, pp. 56-57.

Dr. Adolphus S. Rumreich served as the physician at the United States Embassy in Moscow, Russia from 1935 to 1938. While there, he and his wife, Edna Irene Hall Rumreich, assembled a sizeable collection of Russian prerevolutionary art and books then being sold by the Soviet government. They often accompanied Ambassador Joseph Davies and his wife, Marjorie Merriweather Post, when they visited Soviet agencies selling antiques to foreign dignitaries.