Lot 134
134
A silver-gilt cloisonn and plique--jour enamel Tankard
A silver-gilt cloisonn and plique--jour enamel Tankard

MARKED P. OVCHINNIKOV WITH IMPERIAL WARRANT, MOSCOW, 1896-1908

Details
A silver-gilt cloisonn and plique--jour enamel Tankard
marked P. Ovchinnikov with Imperial warrant, Moscow, 1896-1908
Of tapering form, with plique--jour decoration in the base depicting an eagle overcoming a dragon within scrolls, the octagonal lower section decorated with arched panels of red, white, blue and green foliage and flowers on stippled ground with spiralling columns between each panel, the cylindrical upper section decorated with narrow panels of similar foliage and flowers on alternate blue and green grounds, the upper and lower border of plaited wirework, the handle partially enamelled with flowers on green ground within turquoise pellet borders, the domed two-tier cover with openwork crown borders surmounted by an openwork ball finial enamelled overall in green and blue with red and white details, marked under base
8in. (21cm.) high
Provenance
Christie's Geneva, 19 November 1991, lot 331.

Lot Essay

The shape and decoration for this and other similar tankards by Ovchinnikov was inspired by a 17th-century Turkish tankard illustrated by Fedor Solntsev, which appeared in The Antiquities of the Russian State, the monumental work published at the expense of Nicholas I between 1849 and 1853 in 6 volumes. For similar examples see Anne Odom and Liana Paredes Arend, A Taste for Splendor: Russian Imperial and European Treasures from the Hillwood Museum, (Alexandria VA, 1998), p.294 illustrated, and Alexander von Solodkoff, Orfvrerie russe du XVIIe au XIXe sicle, (Fribourg, 1981), colour plate 51.