Lot 0163
Pair of Russian Porcelain Vases with a Floral Decoration by Gardner
Estimate: 1000-1200€
A pair of Russian porcelain vases with floral and botanical decoration, produced by the Gardner Manufactory, Verbilki, circa 1870.
Height: 37 cm.
Each vase is crafted in elegant baluster form with a scalloped, openwork rim edged in gilding. The body is covered in a deep cobalt blue glaze, against which raised white and gold relief decorations of oak leaves, acorns, and intertwining branches stand out vividly.
The Gardner Porcelain Factory, founded in 1754 by Francis Gardner, an Englishman working in Russia, became one of the most renowned manufactories of the Empire. Over two centuries it produced masterpieces of porcelain art that graced imperial palaces and aristocratic collections across Europe.
Famous for its custom-made services featuring family coats of arms, crowns, and monograms, the factory received special recognition from Empress Catherine II in 1785, who granted it the right to use the Moscow coat of arms on its mark. Later, in 1855, it earned the right to bear the Imperial State Emblem of Russia, a distinction given only to the finest manufactories of the period.
These vases exemplify the refinement, craftsmanship, and artistic sophistication of Gardner porcelain in the high historicist style popular during the reign of Alexander II.
Starting price: 800€
Estimate: 1000-1200€
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Lot 0019
A Russian wood composition ” Cossack on a horse”
Estimate: 500-600€
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Estimate: 500-600€Cossack on Horseback
Russia (Danzig [Gdańsk], then part of the Russian Empire), late 19th century
Wood, metal
Dimensions: 21.5 × 16 × 7 cm
Inscribed: “А. Ханыковъ. Данцигъ”A finely carved wooden composition depicting a Cossack horseman, holding a lance and seated on a spirited mount. The sculpture bears a dedication to Alexander Vladimirovich Khanykov (1825–1853) — a noted Russian revolutionary and member of the Petrashevsky Circle, an intellectual and reformist movement in mid-19th century St. Petersburg.
Khanykov, a volunteer student at the St. Petersburg University, was an active participant in the philosophical and political circles of Mikhail Petrashevsky and Nikolai Kashkin. A passionate advocate of Charles Fourier’s socialist ideas, Khanykov delivered a public speech in memory of Fourier on April 7, 1849. That same year, he was arrested in connection with the Petrashevsky case, sentenced to death (later commuted to exile as a private in the Orenburg line battalions).
In exile, Khanykov initiated a secret Russo–Polish–Ukrainian circle, which likely included the poet Taras Shevchenko, also serving in Orenburg. Members of the group held political discussions, wrote satirical pamphlets against the imperial government, and circulated banned literature on economics, geography, and history. Khanykov also compiled a clandestine manuscript on world history praising popular sovereignty and the ideals of the French Revolution of 1789 and 1848, expressing sympathy for Christian socialism.
This wooden sculpture — created in Danzig (now Gdańsk) — appears to be a commemorative or symbolic representation of Khanykov’s revolutionary courage and his association with the frontier and Cossack imagery.
Starting price: 400€
Estimate: 500-600€
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Lot 0008
Russian Bronze Composition by Vasiliy Grachev
Estimate: 6000-8000€
Lot 0008
Russian Bronze Composition by Vasiliy Grachev
Estimate: 6000-8000€Vasily Grachev. Peasants’ Sleigh on the Winter Road
Bronze, 17 × 33.5 × 17 cm
Cast by C. Woerffel Foundry, St. Petersburg
Late 19th centuryThis rare bronze composition by Vasily Grachev depicts a lively winter scene of peasants riding a sleigh along a rugged road. The dynamic pose of the horse, the expressive gestures of the driver, and the detailed rendering of clothing and sleigh bring to life the rhythm of rural Russia in the 19th century. Grachev often collaborated with the renowned Woerffel foundry in St. Petersburg, whose fine castings helped preserve the precision and vitality of his models.
Vasily Grachev (1831–1905):
Born into a family of state peasants, Grachev was apprenticed as a boy to the court craftsman Andreev in St. Petersburg, where he trained in chasing for six years. He later worked for prominent silversmiths, including I. S. Sazikov. Sculpture became his true vocation, though he pursued it largely as a self-taught artist.Grachev created wax models for major Russian manufacturers such as C. F. Woerffel, P. A. Ovchinnikov, and I. P. Khlebnikov, whose workshops produced his works in both bronze and silver. In 1885 he established his own studio in St. Petersburg. That same year he exhibited at the Artistic and Industrial Exhibition in the city, where his composition At the Watering Place was awarded a silver medal.
Starting price: 4000€
Estimate: 6000-8000€
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Lot 0001
Evgeny Lanceray. A Bronze and marble composition “Young shepherd”
Estimate: 400-600€
Lot 0001
Evgeny Lanceray. A Bronze and marble composition “Young shepherd”
Estimate: 400-600€Evgeny Lanceray. Young Shepherd
Bronze and marble, 7.5 × 16 × 12 cmRussia, late 19th century
This small bronze composition depicts a shepherd boy lying on the ground, resting his head in his hands in a relaxed, contemplative pose. The figure is mounted on a polished marble base.
Evgeny Lanceray (1848–1886), one of the most prominent Russian sculptors of the 19th century, was celebrated for his finely detailed genre scenes and portrayals of everyday rural life.
Starting price: 350€
Estimate: 400-600€
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Lot 0017
Séraphin Soudbinine. Bust of Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky
Estimate: 12000-15000€
Lot 0017
Séraphin Soudbinine. Bust of Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky
Estimate: 12000-15000€Séraphin Soudbinine. Bust of Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky
Patinated bronze on marble base
Signed and dated on the bronze: Soudbinine 1912
Dimensions: 16 x 10.5 x 10 cm.
Comparable cast: Musée d’Orsay, Paris (inv. no. JP 143 S, Buste d’homme)This expressive bronze bust depicts Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky (1856–1919), a Russian statesman and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1906 to 1910 and later as Ambassador to France. The vigorous modeling and textured surface reflect Soudbinine’s transition from his early theatrical background to a mature sculptural language, marked by psychological depth and vitality.
Séraphin Soudbinine (born Serafim Nikolaevich Sudbinin) was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in 1867. Originally an actor at the Moscow Art Theatre, he turned to sculpture after 1904, studying in Paris with Léon Bérard, Léopold-Sinaïeff Bernstein, and Jean-Antoine Injalbert. Supported by patron Savva Morozov, he quickly gained recognition for his portrait work.
Soudbinine’s sculptures were shown in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, Berlin, Venice, and New York. He created portraits of prominent figures including Maxim Gorky, Fyodor Chaliapin, and Anna Pavlova. After the Russian Revolution, he remained in Paris, later working in ceramics. His works are held in major collections such as the Musée d’Orsay (Paris), the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), and the Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow).
Soudbinine died in Paris in 1944.
Starting price: 10000€
Estimate: 12000-15000€