A Monumental Russian Figural Silver-Mounted Cut-Glass Kovsh 14th Artel, Moscow, 1908-1917 14-1/4 x 7 x 19-3/4 inches (36.2 x 17.8 x 50.2 cm) PROVENANCE: With Wartski, London; John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington; Acquired from the above by the present owner. This model was widely copied with variations by Moscow silversmiths in the twilight years of the Russian empire. The heroic figure battling a mythical creature across an expanse of ice-like cut glass obviously appealed to Moscow clients, as iterations of this form appeared from multiple manufacturers and retailers. Another version by the 14th Artel with an identical dragon and bogatyr but with differing handle and prow mounts was sold Sotheby's London, November 26, 2013, lot 717. Related versions with kneeling bogatyr archers are recorded as manufactured by Morozov, the 6th Artel, and by the master silversmith Vasili Kangin, sold Sotheby's London, Russian Works of Art Fabergé & Icons, June 9 2021, lot 238. The offered lot, with its neo-Byzantine pendants, and the delicate mount of the dragon to the glass without the use of a massive prow-plate shows a high level of technical skill and design sensibility absent from some other models. Masterpieces of Russian Enamel from an Important American Collection HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved