A Set of Four Russian Imperial Brass-Mounted Mahogany Chairs Christian Meyer (Attr.) Otto & Meyer, St. Petersburg, circa 1800, two with inventory marks of the Mikhailovsky Palace 35-1/2 x 22 x 20-1/2 inches (90.2 x 55.9 x 52.1 cm) (tallest, armchairs) PROVENANCE: Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Russian Works of Art, May 1, 1973, lot 159; Princess Maria Romanoff. A virtually identical chair by Christian Meyer is in the collection of the Catherine wing of the Monplaisir Palace at Peterhof, and is illustrated, A. Cheneviere, Russian Furniture, Vendome Press, New York, 1988, illus. no. 104, pp. 120-121. Meyer is also recorded as having delivered furniture to Paul I at the Mikhailovsky Castle between 1797 and 1800. A further chair of this design is illustrated in Loukomski, Zarskoye Selo Innenraum und Möbel, Verlag Kunstwissenschaft, Berlin, 1924, p. 57. The Mikhailovsky Palace, or more properly, the Mikhailovsky Castle was built as a residence for Emperor Paul I designed by architects Vicenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov between 1787-1801. The castle was designed and decorated as a secure residence for the Emperor Paul I who disliked the Winter Palace and was obsessed with his own personal security. Begun in 1797, the palace was completed in 1800 and the furnishing and decorating barely finished when Paul moved in; forty days later, he was assassinated in the residence. The Romanoffs decamped, never to return. In 1825 the palace was turned into the "Engineer's Castle" and became an important Engineering Institution, with many of the original furnishings moved to other Imperial residences. Estate of Princess Maria Romanoff HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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