A wooden Wall-cabinet in traditional design

BY ELENA DMITRIEVNA POLENOVA, MOSCOW PROVINCE, CIRCA 1890

Details

A wooden Wall-cabinet in traditional design
by Elena Dmitrievna Polenova, Moscow Province, circa 1890
Shaped rectangular, in two registers, the upper with a cupboard with hinged door, and open shelf with shaped circular support, the lower with a sliding drawer with shaped handle, decorated with old Russian geometric and floral motifs, apparently unmarked
20.5/8in. (52.5cm.) wide

Literature

The World of Art Magazine, edited by Sergei Diagilev, vol.II, (St. Petersburg, 1899), p.? illustrated.
Metta Peacock, 'The new Movement in Russian Decorative Art' in The Studio Magazine, vol.XXII, (London, 1901), pp.268-276, illustrated p.269.

Exhibited

Paris, 1900

Lot Essay

With the advent of the pan-Slavic movement in the late 19th century, artists and craftmen sought to rediscover and demonstrate ancient techniques from which evolved the Russian Style Moderne. Many craftsmen were encouraged and supported by the Moscow merchant Savva Mamontov on his estate at Abramtsevo. Among them was E.D. Polenova (1850-1898), who became the manager of the joinery workshop in 1884. For a table by her see London: Haywood Gallery, The Twilight of the Tsars; Russian Art at the Turn of the Century, (1991), no.277 illustrated.

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