A Pair of French Silver Second Course Dishes from the Yusupov Service, Alexandre Gueyton, Paris, circa 1860

both plates of round form, the centers engraved with the names of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov and Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova, inside the names a rampant lion below a princely crown, the borders chased and engraved with pairs of fantastical birds, lions and other animals set amongst foliage and interlace ornament.

Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov and his wife Tatiana de Ribaupierre, to their daughter
Princess Zinaida Yusupov and her husband Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston
Discovered and seized by the Soviets, April 1925
Christie's New York, April 29, 1987, lot 48, one plate illustrated

with minor scratch marks and dents consistent with age, the center of one plate with visible dents to the lower left
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.

These plates are engraved with the names of Nicholas Borisovich Yusupov (1827-1891) and his wife Countess Tatiana Alexandrovna Ribaupierre (d. 1879). The couple were married in Russia on September 26, 1856, but quickly left for Paris, where the Prince was an advisor at the Russian embassy. Despite the distance, though, they embarked on remodeling the family palace on the Moika Canal in St. Petersburg. They hired Ippolito Monighetti in January, 1858, but the prince sent plans and ideas from Paris "on 47 large sheets and many small ones"[1], the work of French artists. At the same time, they were purchasing furniture, decorations, and whole chimneypieces for the new interiors – 124 crates worth was delivered from France.[2]

One of Prince Yusupov's orders in Paris was for an extensive silver dinner service, in an unusual Medieval-style, decorated with the family arms. The command was given to silversmith and designer Alexandre Gueyton, who was known for his work in Revivalist styles.  In 1849 he won the silver medal at the French National Exhibition; in 1851 at the Crystal Palace, a Council medal, and several pieces were acquired for the future Victoria & Albert Museum; in 1855, at the French International Exhibition, a medal of honor, and in 1862 in London a prize "for artistic design and excellence of workmanship;" the French followed up with the cross of the Legion d'Honneur. In 1860, Gueyton published L'Art dans l'armurerie, a series of designs for elaborate revivalist metalwork, particularly swords, but the title page also advertises his work in "vases, cups for races and regattas, fans, coffers, and bonbonnières."

Gueyton seems to have drawn his repertoire of ornament from at least two recently published books, Fedor Solntsev's Drevnosti Rossiiskago gosudarstva (Antiquities of the Russian State), published 1849-1853, and Ivan Snegirev's Pamiatniki drevniago khudozhestva v Rossii (Monuments of Ancient Artwork in Russia), published 1853.  The strapwork borders to the plates and tureens stands look to be derived from the carved ivory panels of the "Throne of Ivan III" (the Great), to which Solntsev devoted 17 plates. It was thought to date from the time of his marriage to the Byzantine Princess Sophia Paleologue in 1472. The tight "pinecones" of the stands are particularly close to Byzantine ivory carving. The paired birds from the plates, though, are closest to the animals shown on panels from "Old Petr Tretiakov's winebowl."  Snegirev's depictions of ancient bronzes more influenced the larger hollowware pieces such as the vase in the Hermitage, with a foot derived from a Late Gothic candlestick.

The renovation of the Moika palace was finished in 1860, and a series of watercolors by A. Redkovsky commemorated the new interiors. The new French service can be seen in the 1863-66 watercolor of the Buffet Room,[3] part of the Prince's rooms on the ground floor. This eclectic suite included a Neoclassical music room, a "Henri II" drawing room, Turkish study, and an Oriental drawing room, while the vaguely Renaissance cabinets in the Buffet Room displayed the new revivalist silver service – the engraved plates centering rosettes of the matching flatware.

The service may have been later moved to the Yusupov's Moscow house. Prince Nicholas' daughter and heir, Zinaida, and her husband used designs by Solntsev to restore the ancient building between 1892 and 1895, creating an "Old Russian" interior to which the service would have been particularly appropriate. Pictures of a hidden treasure trove found by the Bolsheviks in the Moscow house in 1925 clearly show flatware, salts, and sauceboats from the Gueyton service. Some elements were retained for the Hermitage, but much of the service seems to have been sold abroad.

[1] O. Utochkina, The History of Yusupovs' Dynasty, St. Petersburg, 2006, p. 22.

[2] O. V. Utochkina, "History, Fate and Fortune" in The Yusupov Palace, St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 108.

[3] Illustrated Nonna Fedorova, "According to the laws of inspiration..," The history of restoration of the Yusupov Palace, St. Petersburg, 1999, p. 16.