A Pair of Russian Neoclassical Gilt Bronze and Aquamarine Green Glass Four-Light Wall-Lights St. Petersburg, circa 1790 33 x 19-3/4 x 12-1/2 inches (83.8 x 50.2 x 31.8 cm) (each) PROVENANCE: Prince and Princess Alexander Romanoff; Princess Maria Romanoff. These two elegant four-light wall sconces belong to the last flowering of the period in which delicate colored glass defined Russian lighting. In the period of Catherine the Great and Paul I, known in Russia as the "Diamond Age", light and airy prism-hung chandeliers and lanterns came into vogue and featured colored glass balusters, plates and smoke bells, first in ruby and cobalt glass, and later in green, amber, and lilac hues. This pair of sconces are in a strict classical form and rely more heavily on their ormolu frames than the delicacy of the glass itself, heralding the arrival of the 19th century, in which gilded bronze took center stage thanks to makers like Andrei Schreiber, who became a principal craftsman at Pavlovsk in 1815-1816. Estate of Princess Maria Romanoff HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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