Morphy Auctions’ Fine & Decorative Arts sale held in Denver, Pennsylvania, on June 18-19 included this unusual 7½in (19cm) Russian silver-mounted pottery vase, writes Roland Arkell.
Sparsely catalogued with a $600-900 estimate, it was competed for by multiple bidders who recognised its pedigree. It belongs to a rare subset of works that combine jewelled metal mounts made at Fabergé’s Moscow branch with art pottery created by ceramicists at the Imperial Stroganov School.
The two studios worked together after Stroganov School wares were awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Paris exhibition for its experimental glazes – typified by the metallic ‘lava’ glaze to this vase. The silver mounts of helmeted warriors on horseback set with jewelled cabochons are in the pan-Slavic style favoured by turn-of-the-century Moscow merchant families. In addition to a presentation inscription in Cyrillic to the rim, the base carries a series of impressed factory marks including the date 1903.