A Russian gilt-bronze mounted Tulyakov jasper ewer, attributed to the Imperial Workshops at Ekaterinburg, after a design by Andrei Voronikhin (1759 – 1814) circa 1807

of slender ovoid form with gilt-bronze tapering spout, the underneath applied with bearded mask, the rim surmounted by a gilt-bronze bird of prey issuing a ribbon from its claw drawn up to attach to the foliate banding, ending in a gilt-bronze berried pendant, the tapering ewer applied with stylised palmettes and beading, the trumpet foot on square jasper plinth, mounted on a shaped and foliate gilt-bronze base

A highly ornate piece in very good original condition. The gilt bronze eagle to the top is slightly loose and would benefit form securing. The gilt bronze has some minor pitting which is commensurate with its manufacture. There is a small crack to the ribbon where it is attached to the mouth of the vase. The colour of the marble is excellent and has normal wear as to be expected from age and use.
"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."

Comparative Literature
A.Vassilievna Alexeieva, Pavlovsk, The Collection, Vol I, A.de Gourcuff éditeur, France, 1993, pp. 182 & 204.
Antoine Chenevière, Russian Furniture, The Golden Age 1780 – 1840. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London,1988, pp.148, 157, 259-274.
Arcadi Gaydamak, Russian Empire, Architecture, Decorative and Applied Arts, Interior Decoration 1800 – 1830, Trefoil Press, Moscow/Paris, 2000, pp. 81-85.
Natalya Mavrodina, The Art of Russian Stone Carvers, 18^th – 19^th Centuries, The Catalogue of the Collection, The State Hermitage Publishers, St. Petersburg, 2007, Inventory ЗД 1885. p. 203, No. 3; Mavrodina, 2000. Cat. 36.
A. Kuchumov, Household Interior Decoration in Nineteenth Century Russia, The Exhibition in the Pavlovsk Palace Museum, Leningrad, 1977. (1386-C/GEN-REF-88).
Hans Ottomeyer/Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen I, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munich, 1986, p. 364, ill. 5.12.6.
Igor Sychev, Russian Bronze, Trefoil, Moscow, 2003.
Semenov Oleg, Russian Furniture. The Classic Revival, Timofeev, Moscow, 2003: 1805-1861. pp. 187-189.
Penelope Hunter-Stiebel, Stroganoff, The Palace and Collections of a Russian Noble Family, New York, 2000, pp. 178 & 183.

This elegant and delicately proportioned jasper ewer boasts identical gilt-bronze mounts found on a pair of grey-green tazze in the Pavlovsk Palace Museum, St. Petersburg (Inv. No. ЦХ -612, ЦХ-613), (Alexeieva, op. cit., Vol. I, ill. p. 204) and likewise, to another pair of tazze in the Hermitage Museum, (Inv. No. Э. 6365), the latter albeit with flowing gilt-bronze ribbons now missing, but with traces of their mounts remaining. (Mavrodina, op. cit., ill. p. 199.) (figs 1 & 2). 

Both pairs of tazze were produced according to drawings which were sent to the Stone-cutting Factory at Yekaterinburg, today known by its Romanized name, Ekaterinburg, on 14 November 1802. The publications regarding the pair of gilt-bronze mounted tazze in the Pavlovsk Collection consider their date of manufacture as being 1807 (Semenov, op. cit., ill 213; &. Kuchumov, op. cit., p. 366, il. 212), attributing the gilt-bronze mounts to the works of the State (Stroganov) Bronze Factory at Ekaterinburg. Both pairs of tazze are described in the statements submitted to the High Court in 1807: "In the New Year two cups of pale-green jade 2 - 200 rubles." [Cost of gilt bronze – N. M.] and "at the same time, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna two tazzes of light Selena jasper - 2 - 200 rubles." (RGIA. F. 468, Op. 38, d. 348, l. 22). 

The shaped gilt-bronze base on the present jasper ewer very closely relates to a gilt-bronze base on a Chinese porcelain vase in Peterhof (fig. 4.) and more importantly to a drawing by Andrei Voronikhin of 1801, (fig. 3.) now in the State Architectural Museum, Moscow. (Sychev, op. cit., ill. p. 91). Furthermore, the shape of the present jasper ewer is similar to a design (fig. 5) for a project in St. Petersburg in 1803, and for which S.M. Budanov in Mavrodina, 2007 p. 320, (K35) attributes authorship to A.N. Voronikhin. This project entailed the production of two pairs of vases in red agate, with one pair now in the Pavlovsk Palace-Museum, St. Petersburg (Inv. No. ЦХ -965 – VIII, ЦХ-966), (fig. 6).

Historical Background
During the 18^th century, the demand for Parisian gilt-bronze mounted objects and furniture permeated throughout all of Europe and her palaces. The exorbitant prices paid for these works of art eventually led to the development of national decorative bronze production in countries like England, Germany and finally Russia. Under Paul I (1754 – 1801), married to Maria Feodorovna (1759 – 1828), foreign workers were restricted entry into Russia, especially from revolutionary France and special permission had to be obtained from the Tsar himself. This made it almost impossible for French bronzesmiths to set up their own workshops in Russia and even though France was still viewed as setting the trend for fashionable interiors, when Alexander I (1777 – 1825) assumed the throne in 1801, the banning of French bronze intensified.  Russian bronzes made in the French Empire style were very seldom signed, and if so, not in an obvious place. This was mainly due to the St. Petersburg bronzesmiths wishing to pass their wares off as expensive French pieces, thereby hoping to take advantage of the prices being paid for the high quantity of illegally imported luxury items into Russia. The various restrictions imposed by the ruling authorities over the years eventually inspired the local Russian architects and craftsmen to combine their knowledge, expertise and imagination to create and develop their own designs and thereby produce notable models as seen with the present gilt-bronze mounted jasper ewer.

Andrei Voronikhin (1759 - 1814)
Of humble beginnings, Andrei Voronikhin was born into serfdom, with his father in servitude to Count Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov. It is through this very association that Voronikhin was emancipated from serfdom in 1786 and sent off to study painting, architecture and perspective in Moscow. He was nominated to the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1794 and became an architect and professor at the Academy in 1800. Although renowned for his architectural designs, he was most certainly well connected with the decorative arts, as seen in his creation of the harmonious interiors at Pavlovsk Palace. Described as possessing a fine sense of proportion with the ability to beautifully balance colour, it is his regard for the design of decorative objects, his particular deliberation in attaining a balance between the amount of gilt-bronze applied to the stone or porcelain object in order to enhance the natural beauty of the material, that earned him esteem. After a fire at Pavlovsk Palace in 1803, Voronikhin was commissioned to work on the apartments of Maria Feodorovna and his designs of these interiors, in particular the Lantern Study, are considered one of the finest in the history of the Russian Empire style. Sadly, however, only a very few of his drawings for the work done on the restoration of these rooms at Pavlovsk Palace have survived. (Hunter-Stiebel, Op. cit., pp. 178 & 183). Notwithstanding his awareness of the prized French gilt-bronze mounted objects already embellishing the Imperial collections, Voronikhin also travelled to Paris where he would have gained a first hand impression of what was being produced by the Parisian sculptors, bronzesmiths and silversmiths, amongst others, Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843), Claude Galle (1759 – 1815) and Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763–1850). In his native Russia, Voronikhin would also have been aware of what Charles Cameron (1740 – 1812), a Scottish architect active in Russia from 1779 onwards had accomplished. Cameron was commissioned to create a number of interiors at the Catherine Palace at Tsarsköe Selo, paying particular attention to furnishings in gilt-bronze. Voronikhin, therefore, in this context and whilst supervising the refurbishing programme at Pavlovsk and other Imperial commissions, would not only have drawn from this to accomplish what he has become renowned for, but he is also credited with collaborating very closely with the joiners, cabinet makers, stone-cutters and bronzesmiths, amongst others Pierre Agis (1752 – 1828) and Frederich Bergenfeldt (1760-1814/22), the latter bronzesmith alluded to as being a special favourite of the Empress Maria Feodorovna, (Igor Sychev, Op. cit. p. 75).

Ekaterinburg Stone-cutting factory & the State (Stroganov) Bronze factory
During the middle of the 18^th century, when St. Petersburg was expanding and stonecutters became more prevalent, their skills were used to produce elaborately carved objects to furnish the lavish apartments being built. Towards the end of the century many new hard stones were being discovered, including various types of jasper, porphyry (in a range of colours), aventurine, marble, malachite, and granite. Organised by the Imperial administrations, the excavated stone was transported to three main Imperial stone cutting factories, i.e. Peterhof, Ekaterinburg and Kolyvan. Founded in 1751, the Ekaterinburg Lapidary Factory, located in the heart of the Ural Mountains and therefore close to the rich mineral resources, boasted a dedicated water mill to facilitate the laborious functions of cutting, grinding, and polishing hard stone. By about 1780 it was producing large vases and other ornamental furnishings, some of which were displayed in the Winter Palace. In 1800, the factory came under the supervision of the Imperial Academy of Arts, whose president was Count Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (1733–1811), this being the same year that Andrei Voronikhin became architect and professor at the Academy. Four years later, in 1804, the State (Stroganov) Bronze factory was founded on the initiative of Count Stroganov and A.F. Bestuzehv, Senior Manager of the Ekaterinburg Lapidary Factory and the Peterhof Stone Polishing Factory. Under the direction of Count Stroganov, strong links were established between the stone-cutting factories and the celebrated Russian architects of the day. When Count Stroganov took charge of the Ekaterinburg and Peterhof Lapidary Works, he was particular about the quality and artistic merit of the pieces produced there and in order to attain the high standard in quality bronze ornaments for mounting the precious stone objects, he encouraged direct collaboration between the designers and the artisans.
Together these talented craftsmen designed and created highly decorative items which whilst initially often purchased under the impression that they were French, were later rightfully attributed to the Russian craftsmen who created the objects integral to the Russian decorative schemes.