A Russian Imperial Porcelain Manufactory Presentation Easter Egg Russian Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, Period of Nicholas II (1896-1917), apparently unmarked 4-3/4 x 3-1/2 inches (12.1 x 8.9 cm) In A La Vieille Russie presentation case. PROVENANCE: A La Vieille Russie. The late Tamara Kudriavtseva, curator of Russian ceramics and porcelain at the Hermitage, noted that the majority of Easter eggs of this type with elaborately tooled and burnished gilding on mastic backgrounds were commissioned for Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. After about 1900, Empress Alexandra began to commission works using images from St. Petersburg's Cathedral of St. Isaac. This image of St. Alexis Metropolitan of Moscow is after the original image for the Cathedral by artist Karl Briullov (Russian, 1799-1852). Briullov's original murals for the cathedral were lost due to atmospheric issues within the building; a project to recreate them in mosaic was never executed due to the revolution (cf. Kudriavtseva & Whitbeck, Russian Imperial Porcelain Easter Eggs, Merrell: London, 2001, p. 186). Property from the Nelkin Collection HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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