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Lot Essay
Bolin, like Fabergé, established its reputation supplying the Russian Imperial court. The firm traces its origins to 1791, with a leading St. Petersburg jeweler of the Imperial court. Swedish-born Carl-Edward Bolin married the jeweler's daughter and took over the enterprise in the 1830s. The following decade, his brother Henrik opened a Moscow workshop. In 1916 a Stockholm branch opened and Bolin was appointed Jeweler to the Swedish Court, a position that continues to the present day. The Russian workshops were forced to close following the Revolution and operations were consolidated in Stockholm. (See: Graham Hughes, Modern Silver Throughout the World 1880-1967, 1967, pp. 23-29)
According to Christian Bolin of W. A. Bolin, the centerpiece likely was produced in 1916 for the opening of the Stockholm shop. Illustrated in the firm's Moscow/Stockholm catalogue, Bolin speculates the centerpiece was made in Moscow and assembled in Stockholm, as it bears striking similarity to other Moscow work. Like other silver pieces which remain in the Bolin collection, it was assayed in 1919, although produced earlier. This centerpiece remained with the firm until it was sold in the 1960s.
According to Christian Bolin of W. A. Bolin, the centerpiece likely was produced in 1916 for the opening of the Stockholm shop. Illustrated in the firm's Moscow/Stockholm catalogue, Bolin speculates the centerpiece was made in Moscow and assembled in Stockholm, as it bears striking similarity to other Moscow work. Like other silver pieces which remain in the Bolin collection, it was assayed in 1919, although produced earlier. This centerpiece remained with the firm until it was sold in the 1960s.