Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
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VARIOUS PROPERTIES
Lot 161*
A silver and cloisonné enamel presentation kovshKhlebnikov Firm, Moscow, 1908-1917, with inscription under foot
5 June 2013, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£30,000 - £50,000
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A silver and cloisonné enamel presentation kovsh
Khlebnikov Firm, Moscow, 1908-1917, with inscription under foot
a large kovsh of traditional shape, on circular plain silver foot, with raised prow and curved hook handle, the bowl divided into four sections: two with foliage and branches in the neo-Russian style and centred with circular round flower head, all in varicolour shaded enamel against red-brown ground, and two with very elaborate stylized orchid flower flanked by curving branches in various shades of blue, lavender, green and pink against cream ground, bordered by band of floral motifs in varicolour enamel against green ground accentuated with granulation, the handle similarly decorated, 88 standard
length: 25.5cm (10in).
a large kovsh of traditional shape, on circular plain silver foot, with raised prow and curved hook handle, the bowl divided into four sections: two with foliage and branches in the neo-Russian style and centred with circular round flower head, all in varicolour shaded enamel against red-brown ground, and two with very elaborate stylized orchid flower flanked by curving branches in various shades of blue, lavender, green and pink against cream ground, bordered by band of floral motifs in varicolour enamel against green ground accentuated with granulation, the handle similarly decorated, 88 standard
length: 25.5cm (10in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE:
Gift to Martin Cox, a Director of Mather & Platt Ltd by the staff of the company on the occasion of his leaving Russia, July 1917 (inscription under foot)
Acquired by the parents of current owner in Europe, circa 1950s
Thence by descent to the present owner
The origin of the British company Mather & Platt, which still exists today and is primarily known as a manufacturer of centrifugal pumps, dates back to 1817, when Peter Mather, a visionary businessman from Manchester, founded a production company manufacturing textile-finishing machinery. In 1845 the partnership of William and Colin Mather changed the firm to Mather & Platt by joining forces with William Wilkinson Platt. By the turn of the 19th century, what began as a small northern-British textile-finishing company grew into a large scale general engineering organization with world-wide scope and an ambitious business plan. In addition to the production of textile-finishing machinery, it began manufacturing steam engines, bored artesian wells and pumping equipment. In search of new international markets, William Mather visited Russia in 1860: the step that eventually led to the establishment of a flourishing business there. His partner, John Platt, spent eleven winters in Russia and help to oversee considerable business expansion in Russia. In later years, the company office was opened in Moscow, with Martin Cox acting as company representative in Russia.
The present lot was presented to the Director of the company in Russia, Martin Cox, who was due to leave Russia just three months before Russia's social and political crisis culminated in the October Revolution of 1917 and abruptly put an end to any private business enterprise.