$700
Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500
The Art of Russian Lacquer: 19th C Masterworks from the Taylor Collection
Auction: November 29, 2018 10:00:00 AM EDT
Illustrated:
Russian Lacquered Papier-Mâché Boxes: 200 Years of Hand-Painted Miniature Art, LM Antique Art, Thousand Oaks: 2017, pp. 20-21.
Note:
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky (1839-1915) was one of the preeminent Russian painters of the 19th century, associated with the Peredvizhniki (the "Wanderers"), and a noted painter of historical scenes. "A Boyar Wedding Feast" was one of his most popular images. Painted in 1883, the work shows a Muscovite wedding feast following a Boyar marriage. The work won a gold medal at the World's Fair held in Antwerp in 1885 and became well-known through commercial reproduction.
While the scene is largely imagined, Makovsky paid special attention to the textiles and decorative arts which were depicted in the work, copying actual period examples from the well-known collection of Count Cheremeteff. After the Fair, the painting was auctioned, and acquired by art collector Charles Schuman. Sold from Schuman's estate, the painting became the property of Robert Ripley, the creator of "Ripley's Believe it or Not." The painting was acquired by Marjorie Merriweather Post, and in 1973, "A Boyar Wedding Feast" was donated to the collection at Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Gardens, where it remains today.
This box is remarkably early and contemporary to the painting, dating from the brief period between 1883 when the painting was first exhibited in Russia, and 1885, when the painting entered a foreign collection.