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DECANTER WITH TRANSFER PRINTED PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS I

Creator(s): Imperial Glass Manufactory (Attributed to)

On view in: Passageway to Dining Room


About this object

The decanter with stopper is made of a dark blueish-green glass. The neck is decorated with four knops, all gilded, with rough channeling between. Below this the decanter's shoulder is cut into 17 facets, each ending in an arch. In each facet a stylized plant form resembling leaves and berries growing from a horizontal stem has been painted in gilt. They are regularized so that the three leaves and two berries are repeated three times within each facet. The uncut area below this and above the transfer print has been entirely gilded. The upper half of the remainder of the body is uncut, while the lower half is cut into 22 squared-off facets. The black and white transfer print has been applied to both the uncut and faceted portions of the decanter. On one side of the decanter is a bust-length portrait of Nicholas I, looking left, set within a wreath made of laurel and oak leaves. At the top of the wreath is a crown, while the bottom is anchored by a double-headed eagle bearing an orb and scepter in its claws and with a shield decorated with St. George slaying a dragon on its chest. Additional leaves spring out from beneath the eagle. Nicholas wears a uniform with epaulets and a single order on his chest. On either side of him are three standards, one capped with a half-moon. At the base of the print is an inscription giving the date and artist's name (23 June 1839, I.V. Flerov). On the reverse is a second transfer print with identical framing devices around a bust-length portrait of Alexandra Feodorovna, wearing a low-cut dress, a four-strand pearl necklace with a jeweled clasp, pearl earrings, and a turban, looking right. There is also an identical inscription with date and artist's name. Between the two transfer prints are decorative scrolls, flowers, leaves, and fruit, all in tooled gilt. The rounded stopper is cut in a sunburst pattern, with gilt on one side of each channel.

Object name:
DECANTER WITH TRANSFER PRINTED PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS I
Made from:
Glass
Made in:
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Date made:
1840
Size:
20.8 cm (8 3/16 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
23.198.1-2
Class:
GLASS
Signature marks:
INSCRIPTION Gra: Poz: M. 1839 g. // Iiunia 23 d. Ts. V. Flerov in transfer print beneath the portrait of Nicholas I Translation: Engraving approved Moscow 23 June 1839 by the censor V. Flerov inscription Gra: Poz: M. 1839 g. // Iiunia 23 d. Ts. V. Flerov in transfer print beneath the portrait of Alexandra Feodorovna Translation: Engraving approved Moscow 23 June 1839 by the censor V. Flerov
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973