A three-coloured gold and enamel snuff box, Hanau, the enamel painted by Jean David Berneaud, circa 1856
Auction Closed
May 25, 03:15 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A three-coloured gold and enamel snuff box, Hanau, the enamel painted by Jean David Berneaud, circa 1856
rectangular with rounded corners, the lid enamelled en plein with a view of Vorontsov Palace in a luscious green garden, signed: B px within chased gold border and dark blue enamel rim, the inside of the lid engraved with a presentation inscription reading: En mémoire du Prince / Michel Woronzow / le 6 Novembre 1856, the sides with diaper engine-turning between corners chased with trophies on a sablé ground, the base similarly decorated within a border of alternating floral and leafy ornaments, ubbed maker's mark within sun wheel,
7.3cm., 2⅞in. wide
'The Woronzow family is one of the most ancient of the Russian nobility, and latterly was much advanced by the Empress Catherine, was general-in-chief in three campaigns; but his principal military achievements were those of the war of the Don. For several years he filled the office of Governor-General of White Russia, including the Crimea, acquiring an immense amount of property of several provinces, and a large portion of the town of Odessa. He subsequently held the office of Governor-General of the Caucasian provinces, and had a favourite residence in the southern Crimea, which has been extolled by visitors for the mildness of the climate, and the oriental splendour of its garden and lawns' (The Sun, London, Tuesday, 25 November 1856, p. 2 e).
Part of this residence by the Black Sea, the Moorish Vorontsov Palace at the southern tip of the Crimea, is represented on the lid of the present lot, dedicated to the late prince who was a close friends of the Duke of Wellington and other influential figures of his time. The splendid palace was commissioned by the Governor-General of Novorossiya, Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1782-1856, fig. 1) and designed by the English architect Edward Blore (1787-1879), who is perhaps most famous for completing the designs for Buckingham Palace in London. The princely residence merged Scottish baronial and Neo-Moorish styles with Gothic Revival and Neo-Mughal elements, and the choice of Blore as an architect was also partially due to the Prince's love for England. Mikhail's father, Semyon Vorontsov, was Catherine the Great's ambassador to England, and the Prince had been educated in London. The palace had cost Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov nine million roubels when it was built over the course of twenty years from 1848, and served him as a summer residence.
Part of this residence by the Black Sea, the Moorish Vorontsov Palace at the southern tip of the Crimea, is represented on the lid of the present lot, dedicated to the late prince who was a close friends of the Duke of Wellington and other influential figures of his time. The splendid palace was commissioned by the Governor-General of Novorossiya, Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1782-1856, fig. 1) and designed by the English architect Edward Blore (1787-1879), who is perhaps most famous for completing the designs for Buckingham Palace in London. The princely residence merged Scottish baronial and Neo-Moorish styles with Gothic Revival and Neo-Mughal elements, and the choice of Blore as an architect was also partially due to the Prince's love for England. Mikhail's father, Semyon Vorontsov, was Catherine the Great's ambassador to England, and the Prince had been educated in London. The palace had cost Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov nine million roubels when it was built over the course of twenty years from 1848, and served him as a summer residence.
