A JEWELLED SILVER-GILT AND PICTORIAL ENAMEL CASKET, FEODOR RÜCKERT, MOSCOW, 1889-1908 |

the lid painted en plein with The Boyar Wedding Feast after Konstantin Makovsky, within a cloisonné enamel border, the sides set with rubies and emeralds, struck with maker's mark FR (Cyrillic), scratched numbers 447 and 652, 88 standard

Sotheby's New York, 30 April 2003, lot 75

Evoking the grandeur and romanticism of the long lost pre-Petrine era, Makovsky’s A Boyar Wedding Feast was a sensation in fin de siècle Russia. Because of the rapid changes taking place in Russian society during the reigns of Alexander III and Nicholas II, Makovsky’s history painting offered a comforting and idealised image of Russian traditions, which greatly appealed to the aristocracy.  The popularity of the painting and its appropriate subject matter made it the ideal decoration for anniversary and wedding gifts. It soon became the decorative centrepiece on the finest enamelled objects produced during this time, appearing on kovshes, trays, and vases by makers such as Rückert, Ovchinnikov, Kurlyukov, and Khlebnikov. While some of the objects produced by Ruckert present cropped versions of the painting, on this casket the painting is represented in full on the lid and elegantly framed by the surrounding enamel decoration.

The original iconic painting is a highlight of the collection at Hillwood Museum (cat. no. 51.79).