Something new … Russian silver

Sometime back I purchased at an out-of-town “antique” mall a pair of candlesticks. They were priced as if they were silverplate but I thought from the way they were made and the presence and location of multiple marks that they were probably solid silver. I took a chance and bought them. Initially, I was unable to decipher the marks and, although several people expressed interest in them, I was unwilling to price them when I wasn't sure what they were. Someone even suggested they might be polished pewter rather than silver. In one of my “shop rearrangings” I packed them away. I had forgotten about them and then could not remember what I had done with them. I was digging for some other things last week and found them again.

A pair of Russian silver candlesticks, St. Petersburg 1824.

This time (perhaps new reading glasses helped), I was able to figure out the marks and it turns out the sticks are Russian silver. I'm still trying to figure out the maker's mark – my Cyrillic is not very good – but they bear the assay and city mark for St. Petersburg and a date of 1824.

This is my first experience with Russian silver. The sticks definitely draw the attention because of the obvious quality of their workmanship. (They were on top of a tall cabinet when they initially caught my eye.) While the use of foliage motif decoration is something they have in common with English examples of the same period, you can see that in overall design and “flavor” they are much different, as might be expected.

One of the Russian sticks shown with two examples of Old Sheffield Plate sticks of the same period

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

The Classical Influence, part 2

In the previous post I mentioned the use of ancient, classical motifs as decoration in the designs of Robert and James Adam and the guides of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, contrasting this with early 19^th century attempts to emulate the designs of ancient furniture. In this post I will show some examples of this use of “classical motifs” in furniture and decorative arts.

One obvious use of classical motifs is the column. Chippendale's Director includes renderings of the classical orders and some of his designs incorporate them, e.g. chimney pieces and clock cases. American Chippendale furniture of the 18^th century also utilized the classical orders, especially in case pieces such as secretaries and highboys.

A widely adopted use of the classical column was for candlesticks. Pictured below is a pair of Old Sheffield Plate candlesticks in the form of Doric columns from around 1770. (They are marked with “pseudo hallmarks” which were banned in 1773.)

Old Sheffield Plate candlesticks in the form of Doric columns, English c. 1770.

The vase or urn shape was an especially popular classical motif and was widely used in both furniture and other decorative arts. Pictured below is a Hepplewhite chair which uses the vase or urn shape in the general design of its “shield back” as well as incorporating it into the carving within the shield. Hepplewhite style mirrors are another example.

Hepplewhite side chair, mahogany, English, late 18^th or early 19th century. One of a set of six.

Hepplewhite style mirror, 20^th century.

This shape was especially popular in the design of neoclassical style silver of the late 18^th century. Illustrated below are several examples of various table items in this shape as well as a sugar basket or cream pail decorated with a medallion of a classical figure.

Old Sheffield Plate soup tureen, English c. 1780.

Old Sheffield Plate hot water or tea urn, English c. 1780. Old Sheffield Plate hot water jug, English c. 1780. Jugs or ewers of this type were also used for serving claret.

Old Sheffield Plate sugar basket or cream pail, English c. 1780. The body is formed of four pieces joined together.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

The Classical Influence

Throughout the 18^th century, the architecture and art of ancient Greece and Rome were the predominant influence on architecture and design in Great Britain and North America. This classical or “antique” taste is readily seen in the design of buildings and the decoration of rooms, especially in the work of the Adam brothers.

The dining room of Landsdowne House, London, designed by Robert Adam, as installed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While ancient, classical motifs were widely used as decoration in the designs of Robert and James Adam and the guides of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, there were limited attempts to utilize or emulate the actual forms of ancient furniture.

Ancient Greek vase painting showing  a woman playing a lyre seated on a klismos.

Ancient Greek stele depicting a woman seated on a klismos.

This did not really occur until the early 19^th century in Britain with the designs of Thomas Hope, who set out to reproduce ancient Greek forms, particularly chairs, and the work of such firms as Gillows of Lancaster.

Chair designs by Thomas Hope.

English mahogany chair (one of a pair) of the Regency/George IV period with low curving crest rail and reeded legs.

Side view showing the “klismos” shape.

In the young United States, this influence was especially strong in classical furniture of major metropolitan areas such as New York and Philadelphia and the painted furniture of Baltimore.

New York classical chair, mahogany, c.1820

Side view showing the continuous line from the top of the stiles to the bottom of the front legs.

Baltimore painted chair, c.1820, decorated with classical motifs in gilt. The overall shape is closer to that of the English chair than the New York example.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com