A magnificent Russian carved walnut side cabinet, F.Meltzer and Co., circa 1890.

with carving by Prof. Camille, with a broken domed pediment above a frieze carved with lions and a pair of panelled doors with Pomona and Vertumnus in relief intersposed by term figures, the lower part carved with military emblems above a pair of panelled doors flanked by fluted Corinthian pilasters with an engraved brass plaque, "Szafa nagrodz na Nriedzyn Wystawie w Chicao Medalem svebrnym rysunek i rzezby; prof. sculpt. de Camille wykonat mistrz stolarski Meltzer w Petersburgu"

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On 31^st May 1891 the Russian Government was invited to take part in the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, USA.  A committee was duly appointed to organise the selection of works to be displayed, and the logistics of transport and insurance.  Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich was invited to chair the committee with H.E.P. Glukhovski as Commissionaire General.  Meltzer’s work is included in the catalogue under Dept H., Group 9, Classes 565-569, but the entry is not detailed enough for individual furniture to be identified.   Fedor Andreevich Meltzer was awarded a silver medal for this piece.

The firm Meltzer F. & Co was founded in the 1860s in St. Petersburg by Fedor Andreevich, originally a coach-maker.  It was a family firm, with at least three of Fedor’s sons involved in some capacity.  Meltzer’s second son Ernest built new workshops for the factory on the embankment of the River Karpovka, his third son became a court architect and headed the design department.  Ivan Trofimer-Meltzer, Fedor’s adopted son, occupied the electric lamp shop next to the factory.  By the end of the 19^th century the factory employed four hundred workers, was one of the largest in the city, and undisputed leaders in their field.

The reputation of the firm was such that Meltzer F. & Co were patronised by three generations of Romanovs.  They undertook their first large-scale commissions in 1875 which included a suite of furniture for Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s apartments in the Farm Palace, Peterhof. This was followed swiftly by orders for furniture to be made for the Empress’ chamber at Catherine Palace, Tsarskoe Selo.  Later Fedor Meltzer furnished the apartments of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna at the Alexandrovsky Palace, also in Tsarskoe Selo.  Many of the palaces in Peterhof were decorated with furniture designed by R. Meltzer, Fedor’s brother.

Given the vast number of Imperial commissions, and the unusual exhibition provenance of this cabinet, it is possible it once formed part of a Romanov Collection.  Many pieces produced by Meltzer F. & Co for the Hermitage are currently preserved in the repositories of the museum.