Lot 192
  • 192

A LARGE RUSSIAN MALACHITE TAZZA CIRCA 1840, PROBABLY EKATERINBURG, AFTER A DESIGN BY I.I. GALBERG

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • stone
  • height 12 1/4 in.
  • 31 cm.

Literature

V.B. Semyonov, Malachite, Sverdlovsk, 1987.


N. Mavrodina, The Art of Russian Stone Carvers 18th-19th Centuries, St. Petersburg, 2007.

Condition

Overall very good condition, some minor dust in recesses, 1 1/2 in. area of professional restoration to one edge of rim, with slight loss
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

The design of this impressive malachite tazza can be associated to Ivan Ivanovich Galberg (1782-1863) who produced several designs for hardstone objects, manufactured at the Ekaterinburg Imperial Lapidary Factory, and the high quality of the present lot suggests that it was produced at that factory. A coloured drawing of a malachite tazza with a gilt-bronze mounted plinth made for Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, is as same outline of the present lot, and is signed by Galberg and dated 1826, after an original design by Carlo Rossi of 1816. (Mavrodina, p.231, nr. E69). In 1835, the cabinet of the Emperor Nicolas II commissioned a pair of vases of this design, at the high cost of 9734 rubles, which is now in the Hermitage Museum collections. The present lot varies from the above by having a wider bowl.
Stonecutting started in Russia in the mid-18th century with the establishment of a workshop at Peterhof producing small scale pieces. Initially trained by Italian craftsmen, the Russians quickly became highly skilled in working native stone, passing these skills through the generations. They perfected the 'Russian mosaic' technique, cutting the malachite into small pieces of veneer between two and four millimetres thick, sorting them for their patterns, and then after grinding and polishing, carefully cementing them to the metal or stone form of the object, and skilfully masking the joints with a paste of powdered malachite.
In 1765, an Imperial Lapidary Works was established at Ekaterinburg in the Urals, the source of many of the hardstones used. And in 1810, the popularity of malachite objects was greatly increased with the discovery of new and rich mineral deposits near Mednorudinsk, on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains, with further large deposits being discovered on the Demidov estate at Nizhnii Tagil on the Siberian side of the Ural Mountains, in 1835. This lead to unprecedented large-scale use of the stone in architectural projects and in 1861, the director of the Ekaterinburg Works described the appeal of such objects: "Even time cannot destroy these hardstone objects: for future generations they will remain forever a reminder of a typically Russian art form".