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CONTINENTAL, PROBABLY 19TH CENTURY
Details
A Rosewood and Marquetry Document Box
Continental, probably 19th century
Elaborately inlaid in pewter, brass and mother of pearl with the coat of arms of Count Tolstoy, within a brass-strung border with foliate sprays at the corners
2¾ in. (7 cm.) height
15 7/8 in. (37.8 cm.) width
13½ in. (34.3 cm.) depth
Continental, probably 19th century
Elaborately inlaid in pewter, brass and mother of pearl with the coat of arms of Count Tolstoy, within a brass-strung border with foliate sprays at the corners
2¾ in. (7 cm.) height
15 7/8 in. (37.8 cm.) width
13½ in. (34.3 cm.) depth
Further details
The present coat of arms belongs to the oldest branch of the Tolstoy family, from which the great writer Lev Nicholaevich (1828-1910) is descended, but no features can link it to a particular member of the family. Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy (1645-1729), the first Count Tolstoy, was awarded the title by Catherine I. One part of the shield, with a column below a coronet, immortalizes the service of the Pyotr Tolstoy to Peter I. In 1717, Tolstoy completed a successful mission to Naples to recover the tsarevich Alexei, who had fled abroad against the tsar's will and was under the protection of a foreign potentate.
Sale room notice
An export license issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be required for the export of this lot.