An Important Pair of Imperial Presentation Porcelain Vases, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, 1836

of fuseau (spindle) form and set on a square gilt bronze plinth supporting a pedestal base, the lower gilt section with stylized foliage and shells in low relief, the first painted with a bust-length portrait of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna of Russia after an original by Franz Krüger, the second with a bust-length portrait of her father, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, also after Krüger, each within a rectangular gilt frame, the cobalt blue ground decorated with borders of gilt palmettes and anthemia, the finely sculpted handles in the form of reeded, acanthus scrolls springing from anthemia-shaped terminals, the trumpet-shaped neck set with a sculpted band of gilt acanthus leaves, and with an everted, gilded rim.

Commissioned by Emperor Nicholas I as a gift for Field Marshall General, Prince Petr Wittgenstein (1768-1843) or Friedrich Wilhelm, Count von Brandenburg (1792-1850)
Anonymous
Mr. and Mrs. Carleton L. Briggs
Christie's New York, April 29, 1987, lot 39, illustrated

L. Cerwinske, Russian Imperial Style, New York, 1990, p. 145, pp. 168-169

on vase of King Friedrich Wilhelm III one handle slightly loose and with small chip along edge and on second handle faint hairline crack; also general scratches and rubbing to surface consistent with age
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.

In the wide-ranging production of St. Petersburg's Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, a special place is reserved for magnificent vases featuring meticulous copies after original paintings. The very best vases of this sort, created during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855), were intended as magnificent surrounds for the finely painted copies of canvases which decorated their façades. It was Nicholas' special attention to the factory's artistic production which undoubtedly influenced the development of the factory's master artisans and, as archival research indicates, these vases are examples of a very personal commission.

This pair of vases with portraits of the Russian Empress Alexandra Fedorovna (1798-1860) and her father, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840), are exceptional examples of their type. Their form, known as fuseau (spindle) or bandeau, were produced at the factory in several variants which differed in terms of size, proportions, form of the handles, and decoration. Vases of the identical shape to the offered lots are located in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum and Kuskovo, the State Museum of Ceramics. The combination of the deep blue and gilded surfaces creates a solemn background and serves as a magnificent frame for highlighting the significance of the ceremonial portraits of members of the Imperial and Royal families copied from the canvases of the well-known Berlin painter, Professor Franz Krüger (1797-1857), one of the most fashionable painters of Nicholas' reign. He enjoyed the special favor of both the Prussian royal family and the Russian Imperial house that, during this period, were connected by family bonds as well as unusually friendly relations. By the Emperor's own invitation, the Berlin painter came to work several times in Russia. In 1836 Krüger's portraits caused a sensation at the Petersburg Academy of Art's September exhibition. The Artistic Gazette (Khudozhestvennaia gazeta) informed readers that "the Berlin artist Krüger has sent two portraits, one a full-length portrait of the Emperor, the other a bust-length portrait of the Empress in Russian costume" (quoted in Asvarishch, p. 45). Based on the haste with which instructions were sent to the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory to start copying these portraits on vases, it is clear that the paintings met with the Emperor's approval.

Such magnificent vases with copies of canvases were intended as gifts for members of the Imperial family, representatives of European powers, and persons of the highest rank. Traditionally the porcelain factory administration prepared the very best products for the biannual display and presentation to members of the Imperial family, which fell on the eve of the Easter and Christmas celebrations. During Nicholas' reign, ceremonies were held in the Winter Palace and preceded by official instructions issued by the Ministry of the Imperial Court that "objects from the Porcelain and Glass Manufactories for presentation shall be installed in the Concert Hall" (Russian State Historical Archive, fund 468, op. 10, d. 239). Monumental vases such as these were considered a particularly important gift. The selection of paintings to be copied on them, as a rule, was specified by the Emperor who had provided instructions as to what objects should be brought from the Imperial manufactories and to whom they were to be presented.

Almost 200 years have passed since the offered lots were produced, and it could be assumed that the origins have been lost to time. However, a document discovered in the archives of the Ministry of the Imperial Court contains information on the commission of two pairs of vases with these portraits and their intended recipients: "It pleases the Sovereign, the Emperor to command that two pairs of vases of medium size be prepared. One pair is for Prince Wittgenstein, and the other for Count Brandenburg; painted on each pair should be portraits: a portrait of the King of Prussia on one vase, and on the other a portrait of the Empress wearing a kokoshnik after the portrait by Krüger..."  This record is especially remarkable because it contains not only the name of the recipients, but also specifies the particular painting to be copied. More often than not, such detailed information is absent from the factory's archives. And their value is yet further increased by the fact that they are a rare example of an ensemble conceived and created as a gift for a particular person or persons. Field Marshall General Petr Wittgenstein (1768-1843), a hero of both the Napoleonic Wars and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828, had been made a Prussian prince in 1834. Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Brandenburg (1792-1850), was a half-brother to the Prussian king and an important diplomat who served many years in Russia, preserving the two states' relations. As imperial gifts, they indicated the recipients' close relations with the Imperial family and the important role each played in European diplomacy of the period.

Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, as noted above, was portrayed "in Russian costume," the ceremonial satin Court dress consisting of a fitted bodice with a short, puffed sleeve and a wide skirt, together with a headdress in the form of the a jeweled Russian kokoshnik worn with a veil. Around her neck she wears a magnificent, four-strand pearl necklace with a jeweled clasp. In 1834, Emperor Nicholas I decreed that "Russian Style" court dress was designated as the appropriate dress for "those days on which there are Grand Exits at court" (Korshunova, p. 20). A Grand Exit (Bolshoi vykhod) was a solemn procession of members of the Imperial family arranged by seniority from their apartments to the Palace church or to the Throne Room, and usually took place on major Church Festivals or other important days. The color of the dress, the length of a train, and the character of the decorative embroidery were all defined by the wearer's rank. Another copy of this portrait by Krüger was executed on a porcelain plaque held in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum which testifies to how highly valued this image was. Like that of the present lot, the painter of this plaque unfortunately did not sign their work. 

The portrait of Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III painted by Krüger in 1831 appears in the reserve on the second vase of the pair. On the original canvas, commissioned for placement in the Hermitage's Military Gallery, the King is depicted on horseback, wearing the uniform of a Prussian general decorated with the Order of St. George, Fourth Class, a Star of the Order of the Black Eagle, the Prussian Black Cross and the Austrian Order of Maria-Teresa (Asvarishch, p. 133). However, as the vases were conceived as two parts of a unified ensemble, only part of the large original portrait (361 by 258 cm) appears as a pendant to the Empress's portrait. Nevertheless, the factory copyist retained the horseman's characteristic gesture of reaching for the reins as seen in the original canvas. It should also be noted that in 1836, A.P. Nesterov (active 1827-1859), the author of a painting in the reserve on the offered lot, also painted a copy of the full-length canvas by Krüger on a krater-shaped vase currently on display in the Field Marshall's Hall of the State Hermitage Museum.

The talents of the Imperial Manufactory painters who specialized in producing such "figural painting" on porcelain were very highly valued. A.P. Nesterov, whose signature appears on a number of the monumental vases held in private and public collections, was among the very best painters of the epoch of Nicholas I. The manufactory's painters did not always sign their works, but their tasks were so difficult that, as factory director Baron Nikolai von Wolf wrote in 1906, they should all be considered "artists in the full sense of the word." These magnificent palace vases with portraits of the Russian Empress and the Prussian King, commissioned by Nicholas I from the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, exhibit the highest artistic value and are of great desirability to collectors. They are rightly associated with the very greatest achievements of the factory's artists, demonstrating their virtuoso mastery of the material and technique of painting, executed with a jeweler's precision, as well as the high quality of their decoration. Their provenance, confirmed with archival documents which simultaneously reveal the names of the recipients of these extraordinary Imperial gifts, allows us to add a bright page to the history of one of the leading porcelain manufactories of Europe.

Sotheby's is grateful to Dr. Tamara Nosovich, Deputy Director General and Principal Curator of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, for compilation of this scholarly note. Dr. Nosovich would like to thank Irina Popova of the State Russian Museum for drawing her attention to the archival references to this pair of vases.

Sources:

Asvarishch, B.I. "Sovershenno modnyi zhivopisets." Franz Krüger v Peterburge. St. Petersburg, 1997

Korshunova, T.T. Kostium v Rossii XVIII-nachala XIX veka iz sobraniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha. Leningrad, 1979

Kudriavtseva, T.V. Russian Imperial Porcelain. St. Petersburg, 2003

Wolf, N. von (ed. T.N. Nosovich), Imperatorskii farforovyi zavod, 1744-1904. St. Petersburg, 2003