BY PRINCESS MARIA TENISHEVA, 1914

Details

A RARE CHAMPLEVÉ ENAMEL SILVER CASKET
BY PRINCESS MARIA TENISHEVA, 1914
Rectangular, the hinged cover inset with an enamelled plaque depicting a young girl wearing a blue sarafan, holding a sheep, its head formed of a baroque pearl, both standing by a stream, within a silver border chased with strapwork motifs and decorated with gilt nails, the silver side panels enamelled with stylised flowerheads in yellow and pink, interior with silk lining, signed with initials and dated '1914' under base
5 7⁄8 in. (15 cm.) wide

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby Parke Bernet, Geneva, 6 May 1981, lot 306.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 13 June 1985, lot 333.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Literature

J. Oser, Mir Jemalei Kniagini Marii Tenishevoi, Moscow, 2004, pp. 112-113 (illustrated).

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

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Lot Essay

Princess Maria Tenisheva (1867-1928), was a famous artist, collector and important patron of the arts in Russia. She studied at the Central School for Technical Drawing under Tsionglinsky and Repin and at the Académie Julian in Paris. Tenisheva is perhaps best remembered for founding the artistic settlement on her estate of Talashkino, near Smolensk, which was to become one of the most important artistic centres of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Talashkino, initially under the guidance of the artist, architect, and designer Malyutin (1859-1937), fostered the study and revival of Russian applied and decorative arts and the emerging Neo-Russian style, much in the same way as Abramtsevo, located outside of Moscow. The workshops were frequented by Russia's best and brightest artists, including Vrubel, Roerich, Alexander and Albert Benois, Nesterov, Korovin, Repin, and Troubetzkoy.

The present lot reflects Tenisheva's fascination with enamelling techniques and Neo-Russian design elements. According to Jesco Oser, this casket is one of the latest pieces produced by Maria Tenisheva.

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