A rare parcel-gilt silver kovsh, possibly Kremlin Workshops, Moscow, second half 16th century, inscribed as belonging to Tsaritsa Maria, a wife of Ivan the Terrible

of broad oval form with low curving sides and raised pointed handle, the outer rim gilded and inscribed in Old Slavonic 'By the Grace of God of the Tsar Sovereign Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Autocrat of All Russia the kovsh of the Tsaritsa and Grand Princess Maria', on a hatch-engraved ground divided by two acanthus flourishes, the prow, neck and handle pierced for jewel mounts and possibly overlay, now lacking, gilt interior, the base with engraved number N195, otherwise unmarked, paper labels for Bulgari, Rome

Purchased by Donna Simonetta Colonna, Duchessa di Cesarò, from Bulgari, Rome, in the 1950s

Thence by descent

Generally good condition consistent with centuries of age, shallow dents overall, the handle slightly askew.
"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."

Ivan IV Vassilievich (1530-1584) became Grand Prince of Moscow at the age of three and the first ruler to be crowned Tsar of All Russia at sixteen.  To history, he is Ivan Grozny or Ivan the Terrible, a complex and towering figure in Russia’s past.

Following the death of his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, in 1560, Ivan went in search of a second.  Legend holds that Anastasia had warned him on her deathbed not to remarry outside the Orthodox faith.  The advice was not heeded; the following year Ivan settled on a beautiful Muslim princess named Kucenej (1544-1569), daughter of a Circassian prince, rechristened Maria Temryukovna upon their wedding and her conversion to Orthodoxy on 21 August 1561.  The tsar came to regret this impetuous marriage, as the new tsaritsa proved wildly unpopular, viewed as an uneducated and vengeful shrew.  The marriage produced one child, Vasily, who lived only a few weeks.  Maria died aged twenty-five on 1 September 1569, probably poisoned by her husband, a charge he denied, blaming her death on his perceived enemies, many of whom he submitted to torture. 

Ivan would marry five more times before his death in 1584.  His last wife was Maria Feodorovna Nagaya (d. 1608), whom he married on 6 September 1580 and who bore him a son, Dmitry.  Less is known about Maria Nagaya than her predecessor Maria Temryukovna; she outlived her husband and later became a nun.  (For further information, see R. Martin, A Bride for the Tsar: Bride-Shows and Marriage Politics in Early Modern Russia, 2012, chs. 3 and 4, and I. Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits v XVI i XVII st., vol. 2 of Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st., 2003.)  The inscription of the kovsh offers no clue as to which Tsaritsa Maria may have been its owner.

With its low walls, wide, almost circular bowl, and the small pointed handle, the present kovsh relates in form to the few known surviving kovshi produced by Moscow workshops in the 16^th and early 17^th centuries, in particular two examples in the State Historical Museum, Moscow: the plain, undecorated silver kovsh (inv. no. 49301/OK33, exhibited, Ori e Argenti Russi, Milan, 1991, no. 77, illustrated, ex. cat. p. 92) and the kovsh presented to the Metropolitan of Kazan, which has a gilt rim inscription (inv. no. 81663/OK13456, exhibited, Moscow Splendours of the Romanovs, Monaco, 2009, no. 239, illustrated, ex. cat. p. 90).  The latter example is applied at the handle and prow with large gems, in this case turquoise, as the present kovsh would have been, indicated by the drilled holes.  The kovsh which Ivan IV commissioned in 1563, made of gold from Polotsk following the tsar’s sacking of that town, which was given to Augustus the Strong by Emperor Peter I and is now in the Green Vaults, Dresden, (inv. no. IV/43, illustrated, J. Menzhausen, The Green Vaults, 1968, pl. 17) is applied with sapphires and pierced overlay in the same places.  The Green Vaults kovsh attests to the fact that precious 16^th century objects were sent or taken abroad as gifts during later reigns, including that of Peter the Great.  Other objects, including Ivan’s silver and niello helmet which is now in the Royal Armoury, Stockholm, left Russia by unrecorded means.  The acanthus scroll ornament engraved under the handle and at the prow and the hatching of the ground at the inscription relate closely to other kovshi, beakers and charki in the Moscow public collections.

On the occasion of his marriage to Maria Temryukovna in 1561, Ivan commissioned a gold and niello charger which is now in the collection of the Kremlin Armoury, Moscow (see I. Kostina, T. Muntyan and E. Shakurova, Russian Silver, St Petersburg, 2004, p. 41).  The inscription’s reference to Maria Temryukovna as ‘Tsaritsa and Grand Princess Maria’ is identical to the styling on the present lot.

The metallurgic content of the kovsh was analysed at Oxford Materials Characterisation Service by electron probe microanalysis and found to contain the following elements: silver 95.11%, copper 4%, lead .4%, gold .27%, bismuth .1%, zinc .02%, arsenic .02%, aluminium .02%, iron .01%, nickel .01%, and cadmium .01%.  The impurities are consistent with Russian silver of this date.  There were no traces of cobalt, antimony, tin, sulphur, silicon, or manganese found.

The Collection of Donna Simonetta Colonna, Duchessa di Cesarò, whose grandmother was Russian, also included the early silver objects which sold, Sotheby’s London, 27 November 2012, lots 463-467.

We are grateful to Professor Russell E. Martin, Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, USA, and Professor Ralph Cleminson, Central European University, Budapest, for their assistance in cataloguing this object.