Lot 0295
A Huge Copy of the Painting by Anatoly Yarr-Kravchenko (1911–1983), “Gorky Reads the Fairy Tale “The Girl and Death”
Estimate: 750-1000€
Anatoly Nikiforovich Yar-Kravchenko (1911–1983)
Gorky Reading the Fairy Tale “The Girl and Death” to Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov and Kliment Voroshilov
Soviet Union, 1940s–early 1950s
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 195 × 150 cm
A large Soviet historical composition after Anatoly Yar-Kravchenko’s well-known painting, depicting Maxim Gorky seated at a table and reading his fairy tale The Girl and Death to Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov and Kliment Voroshilov. The scene refers to a famous episode of 11 September 1931, when Stalin visited Gorky and later wrote his remark that the tale was “stronger than Goethe’s Faust,” as love conquers death.
The work belongs to the tradition of Soviet Socialist Realist painting, combining literary history with official political iconography. Yar-Kravchenko’s composition was widely known in the Soviet period and exists in museum versions, including a large canvas in the Russian Museum.
Starting price: 500€
Estimate: 750-1000€
Hammer Price: €
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Lot 0294
Soviet Ceremonial Crimson Flag with USSR Emblem and Lenin Portrait, post-1956
Estimate: 500-600€
Lot 0294
Soviet Ceremonial Crimson Flag with USSR Emblem and Lenin Portrait, post-1956
Estimate: 500-600€Ceremonial Flag with the State Emblem of the USSR and Portrait of V. I. Lenin
USSR, after 1956
Silk, velvet.
130 × 165 cm.
A large double-sided Soviet ceremonial flag of deep crimson velvewt, embroidered on one side with the state emblem of the USSR and on the other with a medallion portrait of V. I. Lenin framed by laurel branches and red ribbons. The state emblem is shown in the post-1956 version with fifteen ribbon bands, corresponding to the number of Union republics. Both sides are further enriched with embroidered inscriptions in gold, including the revolutionary motto “Proletarians of all countries, unite!” and the slogan “Under the flag of Marxism-Leninism, under the leadership of the Communist Party, forward to the victory of communism!”
Such flags formed part of the visual culture of the late Soviet state and were intended for ceremonial display in institutional, commemorative, and political settings.Starting price: 400€
Estimate: 500-600€
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Lot 0297
After Rembrandt – Copy of “Portrait of a Polish Nobleman”, signed in Cyrillic and dated 1849
Estimate: 2500-3000€
Lot 0297
After Rembrandt – Copy of “Portrait of a Polish Nobleman”, signed in Cyrillic and dated 1849
Estimate: 2500-3000€Ekaterina Ridievskaya, after Rembrandt van Rijn – Copy of “Portrait of a Polish Nobleman”
Signed in Cyrillic and dated 1849.
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions without frame: 46 × 38 cm.A 19th-century copy after Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Polish Nobleman,” depicting a richly dressed figure in a fur hat, holding a scroll. Signed in Cyrillic Ekaterina Ridievskaya and dated 1849.
Presented in a gilt ornamental frame.
Condition: craquelure, surface wear, and age-related frame wear.
Starting price: 2000€
Estimate: 2500-3000€
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Lot 0296
Portrait of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, Russia, circa 1913–1914
Estimate: 4000-5000€
Lot 0296
Portrait of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, Russia, circa 1913–1914
Estimate: 4000-5000€Portrait of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov
Russia, circa 1913-1914.
Oil on canvas.
In a carved and gilded wood frame. Dimensions with the frame: 70,5 x 62 x 9,5 cm. Dimensions without the frame: 46 x 38 cm
A sensitive child portrait depicting Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, shown in the sailor suit that became inseparable from his public image from earliest childhood. Presented half-length against a softly muted background, the young sitter faces the viewer directly, his features delicately modelled and his expression combining youthful openness with ceremonial restraint.
The sailor costume was not merely a charming feature of childhood dress, but part of the visual language of the Romanov dynasty. Boys of the Imperial family were raised with military service in view and from an early age wore naval dress, uniforms, or the costume of specific regiments. Civilian clothing was used only rarely, most often during holidays abroad. In this context, Alexei’s sailor suit reflects both dynastic tradition and the close symbolic association of the Romanovs with the Russian Navy. The same convention appears in earlier portraits and photographs of Emperor Alexander III and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, likewise represented in sailor costume.Starting price: 3000€
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Lot 0293
Soviet Railway Cast Metal Emblem Plaque
Estimate: 300-350€
Lot 0293
Soviet Railway Cast Metal Emblem Plaque
Estimate: 300-350€“Soviet Railway USSR Emblem Plaque
A Soviet cast-metal railway emblem plaque featuring the abbreviation “CCCP” above the state emblem with hammer and sickle over a globe, red star, wheat sheaves, draped banners, and the slogan “Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!”. The lower section is formed with crossed railway tools, reinforcing its association with the Soviet railway system.
Executed in cast metal and retaining its original painted surface, the plaque preserves polychrome decoration in red, blue, gold, white, and black. The reverse is plain, with mounting holes for attachment.
Material: painted cast metal
Dimensions: 37.5 × 26.5 cm
Weight: 3917 gCondition: wear consistent with age and use, including paint losses, abrasions, oxidation and corrosion to the reverse, and minor edge wear visible in the photographs. Original paint. Sold as viewed.”
Starting price: 250€
Estimate: 300-350€
Hammer Price: €