Royal gifts of Russian monarchs Automatic translate

In the art cluster "Gostiny Dvor", in the halls of the new antique gallery "Ancient Gifts", the exhibition "Royal Gifts of Russian Monarchs" will open. The exposition will feature rare, previously unknown masterpieces of Russian fine and decorative art, which were created by order of royal persons for presentation as a gift. The presented unique works of art are in private St. Petersburg and Moscow collections and are exhibited as part of a single exhibition for the first time.

The masterpieces of the Imperial Porcelain Factory are two luxurious tray vases of the first third of the 19th century with ornamental decor and handles in the form of elves playing music, created as a gift for Nicholas I on Christmas Day 1826. Vases of a similar shape with genre and landscape painting are in the collections of the State Russian Museum, the State Hermitage Museum, the Pavlovsk State Museum-Reserve, and the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve.

A special place in the exposition is occupied by a large tea service with pastoral scenes, amazing in its complexity and elegance, ordered by Nicholas I from the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the first half of the 1850s. Made according to the sketches of the French painter Vivant Bose in the "second rococo" style, the service consists of 15 items, each of which is decorated with a unique pictorial miniature. This service is published in the book “Imperial Porcelain Factory. 1744–1904, edited by V.V. Znamenov. A similar tea ensemble depicting children dressed as characters from the commedia dell’arte is presented in the collection of the Peterhof Palace.

A special part of the exposition is formed by art objects - gifts made according to individual projects. A rare table service of 78 items in the "Russian style", made by one of the leading St. Petersburg silversmiths, a supplier to the imperial court, Karl Albrecht in 1879. The uniqueness of the presented polysyllabic service lies in its rare completeness. The presence of a personal count’s coat of arms is a sign of a family service, made by personal order of representatives of the Russian nobility. Intricate depictions of cockerels, combined with fantasy floral and geometric ornamentation in cloisonne enamel technique, “chicken legs” and curly grips, make the service an amazing example of Russian jewelry art of the St. Petersburg school of the second half of the 19th century.

The pearl of the exhibition will be a memorial chest of drawers with the monogram of Empress Catherine the Great and the coat of arms of Siberia. Made by St. Petersburg craftsmen in the spirit of the best European designs, it is a rare example of Russian furniture from the mid-1760s-1770s. The rich inlaid ornament in the form of a large trellis mesh includes details of walrus ivory, effectively contrasting in texture and color with a set of valuable tree species: rosewood, red, pink, ebony and amaranth. The uniqueness of this monument lies not only in its type-setting ornamentation, but also in exquisite decorative overlays made of pure 84 silver. In the collection of the State Hermitage there is another chest of drawers, a pair of "Demidov’s"; however, much worse preservation. Both chests of drawers were probably made for offering to Empress Catherine the Great by order of Nikita Akinfievich Demidov, state councilor, honorary member of the Academy of Arts and the Free Economic Society, owner of numerous metallurgical plants in Siberia. Later, a chest of drawers with silver overlays was taken to the Italian estate of Nikolai Nikitich Demidov, San Donato.

The memorial cartonier of the 1860s from the Anichkov Palace, commissioned by the future Emperor Alexander III for his wife Maria Feodorovna, deserves exceptional attention. Made in the style of French furniture makers of the late 18th century in the workshop of Friedrich Meltzer in St. Petersburg, the cartonier was part of the large study of the Blue Living Room - the personal imperial chambers - and enjoyed special love from Maria Feodorovna. Nicholas II awarded the Meltzer F. & Co. Trading House, which created decorations for the Winter Palace, the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo and the Cottage in Peterhof, with the high status of a supplier to the imperial court.

Vases of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory are a landmark page in the history of Russian arts and crafts. They were designed by architects to decorate the palace chambers of Russian monarchs, and were also commissioned by members of the imperial family. Presented in the gallery’s collection, paired palace vases in bronze decoration, richly decorated with floral paintings and exotic birds, were exhibited at the annual pre-Christmas exhibition organized in the concert hall of the Winter Palace in December 1861, and were purchased for the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Emperor Alexander II and mother of Emperor Alexander III.

“The idea of ​​the exhibition “Royal Gifts of the Russian Monarchs” perfectly matches the concept of our gallery. I would like Old Gifts to become a space that unites art connoisseurs, a place where everyone can find a gift to their liking,” says Mikhail Suslov, Vice-President of the International Confederation of Collectors, Antiques and Art Dealers and founder of the Antiques Gallery. present". - In the short term - to hold on a regular basis not only exhibitions, but also lectures with the participation of professional speakers, practicing art critics and experts. An extensive collection of highly artistic works of art of the gallery allows us to implement our projects.”

Mikhail Suslov is a well-known St. Petersburg antiquary, collector, vice-president of the International Confederation of Collectors, Antiquaries and Art Dealers, vice-president of the Association of Antiquaries of St. ArtLot" in St. Petersburg, art galleries "Old Gifts" in Moscow.