Lot 447
  • 447

A magnificent silver-gilt tea and coffee service, Ovchinnikov, Moscow, 1870-1871

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • silver-gilt, ivory
  • height of samovar 54cm, 21 1/4 in.
in Pan-Slavic taste, comprising a samovar, tea pot, coffee pot, sugar bowl, cream jug, cake basket, waste bowl, tray, tea strainer and sugar tongs, the surfaces engraved to simulate wood grain centring Cyrillic initials AKL below the coronet of a count, within bold geometric borders, the spouts and handles cast with cockerel heads, the samovar, cake basket and waste bowl applied with pierced friezes, addorsed horse head finials, ivory insulators, 84 standard, in two silk lined and fitted original Ovchinnikov wood cases with plaques engraved '6 Avril 1876'

Provenance

Countess Alexandra Karlovna Litke

Condition

The individual pieces in very good to excellent condition, with varied wear to the gilding and light surfaces scratches throughout consistent with age and some use. The hinge of the coffee pot split. The handles of the tea pot and the samovar slightly loose. One foot of the tea pot, one foot of the creamer, and a wing feather of the cockerel supporting the handle of the coffee pot handle, slightly bent. The tap of the samovar indented approximately 4mm into the body. The finial of the samovar lacking ivory ring, the ivory insulators of one handle of the samovar split, and half of the ivory ring of the samovar tap missing on one side. The wood boxes with light scratches to the outside surfaces and the joints between panels very slightly separated. One wooden support of the tong rest split with associated tear to the velvet lining. The velvet with minor scuffings and one stain. Of good weight and very impressive appearance.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Countess Alexandra Litke (1849-1893), daughter of Count Karl Friedrich Konstantinovich Rehbinder, married Rear-Admiral Count Konstantin Feodorovich Litke (1837-1892) on 10 January 1869.  Count Litke was the son of Friedrich Benjamin von Lütke (Russified to Feodor Petrovich Litke), tutor to Emperor Nicholas I, Arctic explorer, President of the Russian Academy of Science, Admiral of the Russian Navy from 1855 and a Count of the Russian Empire from 1866.  Alexandra would pass away the year after her first husband, having re-married Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich Dondoukov-Korsakov. 

The same design was employed by Ovchinnikov on a tea service, lacking a samovar, which sold, Sotheby's Zurich, 23 November 1973, lot 60, and the samovar, illustrated, G. Hill, Fabergé and the Russian Master Goldsmiths, 1989, pl. 206, p. 251.

Ovchinnikov        

Born into the most humble beginnings, Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov (d.1888) is a fine demonstration of the rapid developments in Russian society in the 19th century. A serf of Duke Volkonski, he was apprenticed to his brother’s goldsmithery in Moscow as an able draftsman. In 1853 he made use of his wife's dowry to establish his own workshop and the growth of this business was explosive: by 1870 the factory employed ninety workmasters within tightly-organised workshops and turned over 250,000 roubles annually and by 1881 was larger than any competitor. Validations of the firm’s success came in 1865 when it was made Supplier to the Court of the Tsarevich and in 1882 and 1883, when it won first prize at the All-Russia Exhibition and was granted the Imperial Warrant. 

In the first half of the 19th century foreign gold and silver manufacturers faced very little competition from within Russia, Ignatius Sazikov being a rare example. The strong national character of Ovchinnikov's designs was of great appeal domestically and furthermore were produced to the high standards ordinarily only expected of continental workshops. Although working across a wide variety of objects and media, the firm established a reputation for its technically daring enamel work with particular praise given at the 1893 Chicago and 1900 Paris World Fairs, even after the running of the company had been passed to the original founder’s sons.

Russian decorative arts of the late Imperial era owe a significant debt to the extraordinary talents and energy of the self-made Pavel Akimovich. His efforts firmly established a unique Russian aesthetic and threw off the yoke of Western European dominance. His patriotic and moral ideas, espoused through his 1881 publication Some Information about the Organisation of the Workers’ and Trainees Live in Factories and Handicraft Schools, demonstrate an understanding and respect for the working classes of Russia, which was no doubt key to his success. Furthermore, it is certain that Carl Fabergé looked to the sterling example of Ovchinnikov when re-organising the structure and ideology of his father’s business in St Petersburg in 1882.