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Lot 1334W
A Russian fruitwood marquetry framed mirror
by Nizhny-Novgorod, circa 1913
by Nizhny-Novgorod, circa 1913
26 October 2015, 10:00 EDT
New YorkUS$5,000 - US$8,000
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A Russian fruitwood marquetry framed mirror
by Nizhny-Novgorod, circa 1913
by Nizhny-Novgorod, circa 1913
The elaborate arched frame in the Kustar taste.
33 7/8in x 23 1/16in (86cm x 58.5cm)
33 7/8in x 23 1/16in (86cm x 58.5cm)
Footnotes
Provenance
Purchased for a private collection before 1930's
Thence by descent to the present owner
Literature
Illustrated as encrusted woodwork from Nizhny-Novgorodin Russkoe narodnoe iskusstvo na vtoroi vserossiisskoi kustarnoi vystavke v Petrograde v 1913, (Petrograd, 1914), pl.LXXIX, p. 72.
In the late Imperial period, a revived interest in peasant handicrafts left a firm imprint in the evolution of Russian decorative arts. 'Kustar' was a specifically Slavic strain of the Arts and Crafts movement, encouraged by influential patrons. It manifested itself as a stand against factory-produced mass-marketed goods and ensuing social changes as the Industrial movement gathered momentum and the young sought work in increasingly congested cities. It was hoped that supporting cottage industries would revive village cooperatives and national identity.
The proposed lot is inspired by the window frames of traditional houses. It speaks of vernacular forms, techniques and materials in direct opposition to the output of Westernised city centres. It is likely that the mirror was created especially for the exhibition which would have given it the cachet of best representing its category. According to the text accompanying the plate in the 1914 catalogue:
'The mosaic trade arose in 1882 in Vasil'sursk district [of Nizhnii Novgorod
province]. At the present time eight men in all are engaged in this trade,
using various types of Russian and foreign woods. Plate LXXIX depicts mosaic
goods made of wood. [ .. .] The two frames and the plaque at lower left were
made from designs by the artist D.N. Durnovo by the kustari Grigorii and
Mikhail Mairov of Vasil'skii district [ . . . ] Efforts to raise the
artistic aspect of the wares were made by the St. Petersburg Kustar Museum
and by the Nizhnii Novgorod Provincial Zemstvo, whose kustar department
sells a variety of wooden wares at a total of around 4000 rubles per annum.'
(p.72)
We are grateful to Dr. Wendy Salmond for her help in preparing this catalogue entry. For more on Kustar art see Arts and Crafts in Late Imperial Russia, Cambridge University Press, 1996 by this author.