LATE 18TH CENTURY EARLY 19TH CENTURY

细节

A RUSSIAN IVORY DRESSING-TABLE MIRROR
LATE 18TH CENTURY EARLY 19TH CENTURY
The hinged arched rectangular plate within an architectural surround with fluted uprights with composite capitals, above an inverted breakfront base decorated with a monogram within floral wreaths and fitted with a frieze-drawer, minor losses, lacking finials, with the remains of a label inscribed 'IW 22'
27½ in. (70 cm.) high; 18½ in. (47 cm.) wide; 9 in. (23 cm.) deep

注意事项

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

拍品专文

Ivory carving from walrus and mammoth tusks has had a long tradition within popular Russian folk art since the Middle Ages, originating in the northern regions but enjoying greater popularity in the second half of the 18th Century. Several production centres of ivory carving were known at the time, including Holmongory, Archangelsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the second half of the 18th Century the best craftsmen migrated to St. Petersburg to practice their skills, producing mostly small items such as caskets, work boxes, toilet boxes and combs. The wealthier clientele also commissioned miniature cabinets, toilet tables and bureau cabinets veneered in intricately carved plaques. The Czars long patronized this specifically Russian craft and numerous pieces are still to be found in Russian museums and Imperial palaces. A similar mirror is illustrated as the frontispiece of E.N. Ukhanova, Ivory Carving in Russia XVIII-XIX Centuries, Leningrad, 1981.