LONDON.- The top lot at
Bonhams Russian Sale is Vasily Rozhdestvensky’s, Still life with a clay jug. Estimated at £150,000-200,000, it will be offered on the 28 November at Bonhams 101 New Bond Street saleroom.
Rozhdestvensky's still lifes are admired by both collectors and art historians. The artist maintains a remarkable sensitivity to colour and distinctive dynamism in his compositions as demonstrated in Still life with a clay jug, in which Rozhdestvensky has applied a range of cool hues chosen for the background to contrast with the warm brown of the table with the red jug. The painting is not dominated by one overall colour but instead is a rhythmic interaction of colours. Rozhdestvensky's mission to bring enthusiasm to everyday items is met in this work.
Also offered at the sale is a rare and highly important silver gilt and shaded enamel tray for calling cards attributed to Fedor Rückert, with a stamp of the retailer Kurlyukov, Moscow, c. 1900. Estimated at £200,000-300,000. The piece depicts an intricately executed scene of A Boyar Wedding Feast, after Konstantin Makovsky's 1883 masterpiece, a painting which Alexander III was keen to acquire in 1885. The popular society painting is reimagined on a calling card tray and is rendered in shaded and painted enamel within fine twisted wires, with gold foil underneath translucent colours. The lobed borders are enamelled with colourful foliage and the sides are mounted with high architectural handles decorated with scrolls in relief, which are surmounted by chrysoprase cabochons.
Daria Khristova, Bonhams Department Head of Russian Paintings and Works of Art said, “The silver gilt and shaded enamel tray for calling cards is a unique piece which captures the customs of a bygone era, yet, its aesthetic value remains just as alluring for a modern audience.”
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky’s Shipwreck on a Rocky Shore, 1872 will also be offered, estimate £150,000-200,000. Aivazovsky was one of the 19th century’s most prolific painters. He is highly regarded as an expert handler of marine scenes, a subject which dominated his extensive oeuvre.
Other highlights include:
• Nikolai Fechin, Trees by Water, late 1920s, which has been on display in several galleries including in the exhibition, Retrospective of Nikolai Fechin, Oklahoma City, and in the Hammer Galleries, New York, 1961, estimate £100,000-150,000.
• A Fabergé Imperial Presentation Jewelled, Gold, Enamel and Hardstone Kovsh by workmaster Michael Perchin,1896 from the Estate of the late Victor, 3rd Viscount Churchill (1934-2017) engraved with presentation inscription "Presented to Victor Albert Lord Churchill by The Czar Nicholas II, Balmoral Sat.3.Oct 1896" beneath the Imperial Warrant. Estimate £70,000-90,000.
• A Monumental Porcelain Vase ‘Deep River’ from the Imperial Anichkov Palace, presented by the factory to the Russian Imperial Court probably during the annual Christmas presentation, 1910. Estimate £40,000-60,000.
