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A large porcelain vaseImperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, 1909
Sold for £33,600 inc. premium
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Find your local specialistA large porcelain vase
circular, painted in muted tones of blue and green with a panoramic northern landscape, with Imperial cypher for Nicholas II, dated '1909'
height: 57cm (22 1/2in).; diameter: 34cm (13 3/8in).
Footnotes
One of the largest examples of its kind ever to appear at auction, this stunning vase represents the highest level of achievement in underglaze porcelain painting by the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory achieved as a result of a decade of constant experimentation and technological improvements. Introduced at the very end of the 19th century by a group of Danish specialists invited to Russia to instruct Russian painters in the new technique favoured by the Russian Empress Maria Fedorovna, the underglaze painting method soon became the preferred decorative technique at the manufactory. From the first modest imitations in the style of the Copenhagen factory produced in 1890s, Russian porcelain painters quickly transformed the newly-adopted style by developing new colour hues, introducing national subjects and themes, and by enriching the final product with particularly Russian sensibilities.
The circular shape and plain surface of the vase lends itself beautifully to a vast panoramic view of the northern Russian landscape. Here and there lonely birch and pine trees punctuate the endless forest stretching all the way into the distance and disappearing under the low horizon. Gusts of wind bend the tree branches and blow the feathered clouds across the threatening sky. Rendered in various hues of blue, grey, and cool green, the scene evokes an image of Russia: enormous in scale, endless in its variety and timeless in its existence. Aiming to capture the ever-changing seasons, melancholic mood and poetic picture of the land, the style of the painting on the present vase is typical of the artistic movement of Russian Symbolism prevalent in the Russian poetry and fine arts of the early 20th century.