A RUSSIAN NEOCLASSICAL ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE VASE, ATTRIBUTED TO FRIEDRICH BERGENFELDT circa 1790-1800

Probably purchased by William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Hawarden Castle, Flintshire
Thence by descent to Sir William Gladstone, Hawarden Castle, Flintshire
Sotheby's London, December 13, 2000, lot 168

The later glass insert with small chips. Most probably lacking female figures from atop male figures as indicated with drillholes, as mentioned the catalogue note. Pierced gallery with some breaks and small losses. One side relief of vase now slightly loose due to one oxidized screw used to secure it to the wall of the vase. Scattered rubbing to patinated and gilt bronze, which is also with some oxidation and surface dirt. Some thin clear varnish in areas; not extensive. In good overall condition.
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.

With its applied ormolu decoration on the patinated bronze base depicting hippocampi and a mask of Neptune spouting water set in a grotto, this lot belongs to a small group of vases executed by Friedrich Bergenfeldt (1768-1822) at the beginning of the 19th century. A drawing for a vase, now in the Russian State Historical Archive, St. Petersburg, shows a vase with a base decorated with an identical grotto scene as this vase. The authorship of the design is disputed: the scholars A.M. Kuchumov and V.K. Shuisky attribute it to the architect Thomas de Thomond based on Thomond's fondness for aquatic themes and his use of similar Neptune masks on his fountains; however, as the drawing includes a Cyrillic inscription, it is more likely to have been executed by Andrei Voronikhin, who is know for his design of similar vases; see Igor Sychev, Russian Bronze, Moscow, 2003, p.97. As a vase with the same base sold Sotheby's New York, May 24, 2007, lot 283 was stamped F. BERGENFELDT A ST. PETERSBOURG 1802, it is almost certain that this piece too was executed by Friedrich Bergenfeldt. An ormolu vase of the same form, with the same base, applied centaur and putto on the body, pierced lip and male-form handles, but with winged female figures on holding the pierced gallery (figures the present vase most likely also had as indicated by the drill holes atop the male figures), in Schloss Ludwigsburg is illustrated Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol. I, Munich, 1987, p. 364, fig. 5.12.11. Ottomeyer and Pröschel attribute the vase to Claude Galle, but in light of Voronikhin's design for the base and Bergenfeldt's signed vase, the Ludwigsburg example must be misattributed.

FRIEDRICH BERGENFELDT (1768-1822)

Bergenfeldt was born in Westphalia and like many other German craftsmen, he moved to Russia in the 1790s. He worked in the workshop of the bronzier Yan Aoustin, and also with Charles Dreyer, followed by a period of time spent in Paris. Returning to Russia in 1801 he established his own workshop on the Fontanka Embankment. His advertisement in the local newspaper announced the sale of all manner of "bronze ornaments such as vases, candelabra, casolettes, girandoles, chandeliers, veilleuses etc. in the antique taste and of a quality equal to that of French bronzes."

ANDREI VORONIKHIN (1759-1814)

Voronikhin was born into a family of serfs working on the estates of Count Stroganoff. He trained in painting in the workshop of Gabriel Yushkova, where he drew the attention of the Count who sent him to train in Moscow. Voronikhin was liberated in 1785 and for the next several years studied in France and in Switzerland. Count Stroganoff was one of Voronikhin's most important patrons; he commissioned the former serf to finish the interiors of the Stroganoff Palace on the Nevskky Prospect, as well as other Stroganov residences. He also built the Kazan Cathedral and worked with Brenna at Pavlovsk.