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Lot Essay
This monumental vase is a rare example of the work of the celebrated Russian bronzier, Friedrich Bergenfeldt, working to an 1802 design by Andreï Voronikhin (1760-1814), probably Count A.S. Stroganov's illegitimate son. Voronikhin studied in Moscow under Bazhenov, before travelling through Europe to Paris. On his return to St. Petersburg in 1790, Stroganov commissioned him to design the interior schemes for his palace on the Nevsky Prospect, where he subsequently designed the cathedral Notre-Dame de Kazan. He also worked with Brenna at the Palace of Pavlovsk before committing suicide in 1814. The design, illustrated in A. Kuchumov, Russian Decorative Art in the Collections of the Pavlovsk Palace Museum, Moscow, 1981, p.323, is now held in RGIA, The Russian historical archives in St. Petersburg.
In spite of the Russian embargo on French gilt-bronzes and clocks, Voronikhin and Bergenfeldt were strongly influenced by the work of Claude Galle, and the design closely resembles a vase made by the latter for Schloss Ludwigsburg in 1800 (reproduced in H. Ottomeyer & P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol.I, Munich, 1986, p. 365, fig. 5.12.11).
The offered vase is the only known example signed by Bergenfeldt and the basis upon which the remaining vases in the group are attributed. These comprise:- the pair recorded in the collections of the Hermitage in the first half of the 19th century; another pair, possibly the latter, exhibited by Ariane Dandois in 'L'Empire Travers l'Europe', Exhibition Catalogue, Paris, 2000, no.22; a pair formerly in the collections of the counts Bobrinski (illustrated in I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No 1, 1998, p. 31): and a pair in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (M. Chiarini & S. Padovani, Gli Appartamenti Reali di Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1993, p. 229, fig. II.36).
BERGENFELDT
Bergenfeldt was born in 1768 in Westphalia, and like so many German craftsmen, came to Russia to seek his fortune in the 1790s. He worked first in the atelier of the bronzier Yan Aoustin and then with Charles Dreyer. He then seems to have left St. Petersburg, possibly for Paris. He returned to Russia after the death of Paul I in 1801 and established his workshop on the Fontanka Embankment. His advertisements in the local newspapers announce the sale of all manner of bronze ornaments such as - vases, candelabras, cassolettes, girandoles, chandeliers, veilleuses etc. in the antique taste and of a quality equal to that of French bronzes. He collaborated with Heinrich Gambs, supplying many of the gilt-bronzes for Gambs' furniture, but eventually disappeared from view. Towards the end of his life, he successfully petitioned the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna for a position restoring and cleaning her bronzes. He died in poverty on May 17, 1822, leaving behind a large and destitute family (Sytchev, op.cit.).
We are extremely grateful to Yuna Zek, Curator of Decorative Bronzes at the State Hermitage Museum, Russia and Galerie Ariane Dandois for their researches on Bergenfeldt, Voronikhin and this model of vase, as published in 'L'Empire À Travers L'Europe Exhibition Catalogue 1800-1830, Paris, 2000.
In spite of the Russian embargo on French gilt-bronzes and clocks, Voronikhin and Bergenfeldt were strongly influenced by the work of Claude Galle, and the design closely resembles a vase made by the latter for Schloss Ludwigsburg in 1800 (reproduced in H. Ottomeyer & P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol.I, Munich, 1986, p. 365, fig. 5.12.11).
The offered vase is the only known example signed by Bergenfeldt and the basis upon which the remaining vases in the group are attributed. These comprise:- the pair recorded in the collections of the Hermitage in the first half of the 19th century; another pair, possibly the latter, exhibited by Ariane Dandois in 'L'Empire Travers l'Europe', Exhibition Catalogue, Paris, 2000, no.22; a pair formerly in the collections of the counts Bobrinski (illustrated in I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No 1, 1998, p. 31): and a pair in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (M. Chiarini & S. Padovani, Gli Appartamenti Reali di Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1993, p. 229, fig. II.36).
BERGENFELDT
Bergenfeldt was born in 1768 in Westphalia, and like so many German craftsmen, came to Russia to seek his fortune in the 1790s. He worked first in the atelier of the bronzier Yan Aoustin and then with Charles Dreyer. He then seems to have left St. Petersburg, possibly for Paris. He returned to Russia after the death of Paul I in 1801 and established his workshop on the Fontanka Embankment. His advertisements in the local newspapers announce the sale of all manner of bronze ornaments such as - vases, candelabras, cassolettes, girandoles, chandeliers, veilleuses etc. in the antique taste and of a quality equal to that of French bronzes. He collaborated with Heinrich Gambs, supplying many of the gilt-bronzes for Gambs' furniture, but eventually disappeared from view. Towards the end of his life, he successfully petitioned the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna for a position restoring and cleaning her bronzes. He died in poverty on May 17, 1822, leaving behind a large and destitute family (Sytchev, op.cit.).
We are extremely grateful to Yuna Zek, Curator of Decorative Bronzes at the State Hermitage Museum, Russia and Galerie Ariane Dandois for their researches on Bergenfeldt, Voronikhin and this model of vase, as published in 'L'Empire À Travers L'Europe Exhibition Catalogue 1800-1830, Paris, 2000.