.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
THE KAZAN SERVICE
Kazan was one of the principal cities of the Russian Empire on the Volga river. During a royal visit in 1767, Empress Catherine the Great described it as 'undeniably the first in Russia after Moscow'. The city was largely destroyed during the Pugachev's Rebellion in 1774 and Empress Catherine the Great ordered the city to be rebuilt. From 1781, Kazan served as the capital of the Kazan Viceroyalty, as it occupied a strategic position between European Russia and the eastern provinces. To reflect this status and her efforts to modernise and re-organise the governance of her increasingly vast and multi-ethnic empire, Empress Catherine the Great presented the city with a silver service. The Kazan service was commissioned from Robert-Joseph Auguste in 1778 and was the second of Empress Catherine the Great's major gubernatorial services.
The Kazan service was the third service commissioned from Robert-Joseph Auguste in collaboration with Louis Lehendrick by Empress Catherine the Great and was delivered in 1779. It is documented in Foelkersam’s 1907 inventory, with the trays listed as part of a group of three under “Ct. 150” with a total weight of 20 lbs. 15 z. (vol. II p. 148).
Kazan was one of the principal cities of the Russian Empire on the Volga river. During a royal visit in 1767, Empress Catherine the Great described it as 'undeniably the first in Russia after Moscow'. The city was largely destroyed during the Pugachev's Rebellion in 1774 and Empress Catherine the Great ordered the city to be rebuilt. From 1781, Kazan served as the capital of the Kazan Viceroyalty, as it occupied a strategic position between European Russia and the eastern provinces. To reflect this status and her efforts to modernise and re-organise the governance of her increasingly vast and multi-ethnic empire, Empress Catherine the Great presented the city with a silver service. The Kazan service was commissioned from Robert-Joseph Auguste in 1778 and was the second of Empress Catherine the Great's major gubernatorial services.
The Kazan service was the third service commissioned from Robert-Joseph Auguste in collaboration with Louis Lehendrick by Empress Catherine the Great and was delivered in 1779. It is documented in Foelkersam’s 1907 inventory, with the trays listed as part of a group of three under “Ct. 150” with a total weight of 20 lbs. 15 z. (vol. II p. 148).