A pair of gilt-bronze mounted marble candlesticks, probably from the Imperial workshops in Ekaterinburg, circa 1800-1810

Stonecutting in Russia

The Russians were aided by the discoveries of rich deposits of semi-precious stones in the Urals and further east in Siberia. Towards the end of the 18th century, blocks of Korgon, porphyry, rhodonite, Kalgan and Aushkul jasper and Nevianok marble were quarried and sent to St. Petersburg to be cut and polished into objects.

The Imperial government established the first factory at Peterhof, near St Petersburg, in 1721 by Peter the Great, employing Italian craftsmen who trained Russian crafstmen. Subsequently, the administration set up further factories at Ekaterinburg (in 1765) and Kolyvan in the Urals where the locally trained stone cutters could work larger pieces of stone. These were active through the third quarter of the 19th century.

Two similar pairs of candlesticks have been sold at Sothey's Paris, 28 June 2023, lots 442 and 443.