Catalogue

Russian Imperial glasswork. Glass “Feast of the Sultan”
Imperial Glass Factory, Workshop of P. P. Semechkin and K. I. Terebenev. St. Petersburg, 1840s
Cobalt-blue glass with gilt rim and lithographed decoration over glaze

A rare cobalt-blue glass depicting the scene “Feast of the Sultan”, inspired by Lord Byron’s poem Don Juan. The detailed grisaille lithograph shows an Oriental banquet scene framed by ornamental borders, enhanced with delicate gilding.

Produced in the lithographic workshop of K. I. Terebenev and P. P. Semechkin, the piece exemplifies their innovative use of transfer-printing on glass, porcelain, and faience. Literary subjects such as this were especially fashionable in the 1840s, reflecting the era’s fascination with European Romanticism and narrative imagery.

A comparable example is published in O. M. Polyashova, Russian Glass of the 18th – Early 20th Century, p. 161. Dimensions: 8.3 x 7 cm.

Starting price: 3500€
Estimate: 4000-5000€
Hammer Price: UNSOLD€

A Rare Fabergé Jewelled Silver-Mounted Ceramic Kovsh
Moscow, firm of Karl Fabergé, ceramic body attributed to the Imperial Stroganov School, 1908-1917.
Ceramic, silver, cabochon stones; moulding, glazing, casting, chasing, repoussé, stone setting.
Dimensions: 5.4 × 14.2 × 9 cm.
Marks: firm mark К. ФАБЕРЖЕ beneath the Imperial warrant; Moscow assay mark; 84 zolotniki silver standard.
A rare kovsh of rounded bowl form with a broad flat handle, combining a dark glazed ceramic body with a richly worked silver mount. Around the upper register runs an applied silver band with dense relief ornament of scrolling tendrils, stylised geometric motifs and small cabochon stones, including green and red accents. The handle continues the same ornamental language, with raised silver scrolls and inset green cabochons.
The form refers to the traditional Russian kovsh, a ceremonial drinking vessel deeply associated with Muscovite court culture and national decorative idioms. Here, however, the type is reinterpreted through the artistic language of the early twentieth century: heavy ceramic mass, dark glaze, abstracted ornament and jewelled silver mounts create an object that belongs equally to the world of historical revival and Russian Art Nouveau.
The ceramic body associated with the production of the Imperial Stroganov School, whose workshops played an important role in the renewal of Russian applied arts around 1900. Such ceramic objects were sometimes mounted in silver by leading Moscow workshops, among them the firm of Fabergé.
The Moscow branch of Fabergé differed from the St Petersburg establishment in its stronger engagement with Russian national style and silver production. This was partly due to Moscow’s long-standing position as a centre of silversmithing and decorative metalwork. The firm employed and collaborated with artists and craftsmen connected with the Stroganov School, whose training combined drawing, modelling, metalwork, enamel and practical workshop experience. Students and teachers of the school worked with major Moscow firms, and the influence of the Stroganov artistic environment is clearly felt in the national-romantic and ornamental character of many Fabergé Moscow objects.
See similar objects: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5564848 https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2008/russian-art-n08428/lot.403.html

Starting price: 8000€
Estimate: 9000-12000€
Hammer Price: 12 000 €

Imperial glass manufactory. Glass decorated with a portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
. Workshop of P. P. Semechkin and K. I. Terebenev. Petersburg, 1840s
Transparent glass with transfer-printed decoration and gilding.
Dimensions: 7.7 x 6 cm.

The glass is adorned with a well-known printed image of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, after the painted original by artist P. I. Razumihin (1812–1848), from the collection of the State Historical Museum. The portrait is framed by a wreath of oak and laurel leaves. Below is the double-headed eagle with scepter and orb; above the garland rises the imperial crown. Oak branches extend to the sides, flanked by four banners on either side of the wreath.
This work exemplifies the lithographic decoration developed by the Terebenev and Semechkin workshop, which specialized in applying portraits of members of the Imperial family to glass, porcelain, and faience objects in combination with gilded ornamentation.

Starting price: 5000€
Estimate: 5500-6500€
Hammer Price: UNSOLD€