A Russian Pan-Slavic En Plein Enameled Silver Bratina-Form Punch Bowl and Ladle after Viktor Vasnetsov's Bogatyrs Nikolai Tarabrov, Moscow, 1908-1917 10-1/8 x 14 x 8-1/2 inches (25.7 x 35.6 x 21.6 cm) (punch bowl) 13-3/4 inches (34.9 cm) (ladle) 2602 grams PROVENANCE: German private collection; Schloss Ahlden Fine Art Auctioneers, Germany, 2005; John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington, acquired from the above; An important San Francisco, California private collection; John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington, acquired from the above; Acquired from the above by the present owner. Nikolai Filippovich Tarabrov was a Moscow silversmith of considerable ability, whose workshops were open between 1893-1917. Though he largely produced icon covers (oklady) of a high level of artistic quality, he also had an important trade in flatware and dinnerware for which he was well known. The offered lot appears to be one of three known surviving examples of this pan-Slavic punch set by Tarabrov. An identical one also with an enamel plaque depicting Ilya Muromets after the painting Bogatyrs by Viktor Vasnetsov is in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (Inv. No. ERO-7754a) and dates from around 1916, as evidenced by a presentation inscription reading in Russian "Knight of the Russian Land / Prince Nikolai Leonidovich / Obolensky / in high esteem / Kharkov, 7 December 1915 – 16 July 1916" with signatures of the donors reproduced as engravings. Another model, complete with a tray and twelve cups but depicting two bogatyrs Alyosha Popovich and Ilya Muromets is illustrated in Hill, p. 200 and was sold, Sotheby's New York, 1989. This set was sold again in Fabergé, Russian Works of Art and Objects of Vertu, December 11, 1990, where it was pictured on the catalogue cover. Each these Bratina-form punch sets feature en plein enamel plaques of exceptional quality depicting details from Viktor Vasnetsov's masterpiece Bogatyrs [Heroes], painted between 1881-1898, and now in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. This painting, as well as other images of Russian warriors from the Byliny (the epic poems of ancient Kievan Rus') became popular subjects in the years leading up to the First World War. The offered lot was clearly a gift, and bears an inscription in German "Zum / 22 Juli 1911 / von / August & Sonja". Masterpieces of Russian Enamel from an Important American Collection HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved