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Lot Essay
In comparison to the previously discussed Imperial presentation snuff-box by Fabergé (lot 219), it is more challenging to locate the provenance of the present Imperial presentation snuff-box by Koechli in the ledgers of the Imperial Cabinet.
Descriptions of presentation snuff-boxes set with a portrait miniature depicting the Emperor Nicholas II, given during his reign and listed in the Imperial Cabinet ledgers are often very brief. Sometimes the name of the original goldsmith, such as Fabergé, Bolin or Koechli, is not properly mentioned in the ledgers, especially if the presentation snuff-box was previously presented and then later returned to the Cabinet for its value. Such is the case with the present snuff-box by Koechli.
Based on the ledgers, of the fifty-four presentation snuff-boxes set with a portrait miniature depicting Emperor Nicholas II presented during his reign, nineteen were executed by Fabergé, eight by Hahn, one by Bolin and only two by Koechli. For a small number of snuff-boxes, the name of the maker does not appear in the Imperial Cabinet ledgers.
The two listed Koechli snuff-boxes, given during the reign of Nicholas II cannot be linked to the present Imperial presentation snuff-box, as they were produced and presented after 1899 (the first in 1902 and the second in 1904). The present snuff-box by Koechli is marked with crossed anchors conjoined with the 72 zolotnik, a mark used only for works executed in St Petersburg before 1899.
Thanks to the pioneering research of Valentin Skurlov in St Petersburg and by Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm in her book, The Russian Imperial Award System 1894-1917, published in 2005, the Russian system of awarding gifts during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II is far better understood. As a result of their research, further snuff-boxes by Koechli presented by Tsarevich Nicholas II have come to light. As explained in Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm's introductory essay for lot 219 in the present auction:
Nicholas II presented a total of fifty-four snuff-boxes with his miniature portrait, twenty of these to prominent Russians and thirty-four to foreign dignitaries. To this number could be added a handful of portrait snuff-boxes which Nicholas awarded when still heir to the throne. Four of these, all made by the jeweller Koechli, were presented on his grand tour in 1891, the purpose of which was to open the construction of the Far East segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Vladivostok. One of these boxes has survived.
Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm is referring to the Imperial presentation snuff-box by Koechli sold Uppsala Auktionskammare, 27-28 May 2005, lot 1112.
At the time of the above sale, Valentin Skurlov had already discovered that the fourth box, executed by Koechli and presented to General Major N. Shipov in 1891 was sold back to the Imperial Cabinet, which was a common practice.
The same box was later presented at a cost of 1,676 roubles to the French General Tournier on 3 December 1896 by the Emperor Nicholas II (see Uppsala Auktionskammare, 27-28 May 2005, lot 1112).
Based on Valentin Skurlov's past research and the fact that the miniature of the present snuff-box depicts Emperor Nicholas II with a set of Russian decorations issued not later than 1896, General Tournier is the only possible recipient of this Imperial presentation snuff-box.
General Marie Charles Justin Tournier
From November 1894 to January 1895, Marie Charles Justin Tournier was the director of the infantry at the Ministry of War. He then served as the head of the military household of the French President until 1897. He was appointed Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur in 1906.
Anna Gould
Anna Gould (1875-1961) was the daughter of the American financier, Jay Gould. She first developed her taste for expensive antiques through her marriage in 1895 to Paul Ernest Boniface (1867-1932), the Comte de Castellane. Boni, as the Comte was nicknamed, delighted in pink marble palaces, Old Master paintings and curios as well as in entertaining on the grand scale. The extravagances of Boni's taste proved too great for Anna and she divorced him in 1906 after he had squandered ten million dollars of her family money. Anna Gould then married Boni's cousin, Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Sagan (1859-1937) in 1908 and gained the title of Duchess of Talleyrand. When the Duke died in 1937, Anna decided to return to America and in 1919 purchased her family's vast estate of Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York. Her 550 acres were surpassed in size only by the 3,500 acres of the Rockefellers' private estate at Pocantico Hills (F. Kintrea, 'The Realms of Gould', American Heritage Magazine, April 1970, volume 21, issue 3).
We are thankful to Valentin Skurlov for his assistance in researching the Imperial Cabinet ledgers related to the present Koechli Imperial presentation snuff-box.
We are thankful for Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm for her assistance in researching the history of the present Koechli Imperial presentation snuff-box.
We are thankful to Gerard Gorokhoff for his assistance in identifying the uniform depicted in the portrait miniature.
Descriptions of presentation snuff-boxes set with a portrait miniature depicting the Emperor Nicholas II, given during his reign and listed in the Imperial Cabinet ledgers are often very brief. Sometimes the name of the original goldsmith, such as Fabergé, Bolin or Koechli, is not properly mentioned in the ledgers, especially if the presentation snuff-box was previously presented and then later returned to the Cabinet for its value. Such is the case with the present snuff-box by Koechli.
Based on the ledgers, of the fifty-four presentation snuff-boxes set with a portrait miniature depicting Emperor Nicholas II presented during his reign, nineteen were executed by Fabergé, eight by Hahn, one by Bolin and only two by Koechli. For a small number of snuff-boxes, the name of the maker does not appear in the Imperial Cabinet ledgers.
The two listed Koechli snuff-boxes, given during the reign of Nicholas II cannot be linked to the present Imperial presentation snuff-box, as they were produced and presented after 1899 (the first in 1902 and the second in 1904). The present snuff-box by Koechli is marked with crossed anchors conjoined with the 72 zolotnik, a mark used only for works executed in St Petersburg before 1899.
Thanks to the pioneering research of Valentin Skurlov in St Petersburg and by Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm in her book, The Russian Imperial Award System 1894-1917, published in 2005, the Russian system of awarding gifts during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II is far better understood. As a result of their research, further snuff-boxes by Koechli presented by Tsarevich Nicholas II have come to light. As explained in Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm's introductory essay for lot 219 in the present auction:
Nicholas II presented a total of fifty-four snuff-boxes with his miniature portrait, twenty of these to prominent Russians and thirty-four to foreign dignitaries. To this number could be added a handful of portrait snuff-boxes which Nicholas awarded when still heir to the throne. Four of these, all made by the jeweller Koechli, were presented on his grand tour in 1891, the purpose of which was to open the construction of the Far East segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Vladivostok. One of these boxes has survived.
Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm is referring to the Imperial presentation snuff-box by Koechli sold Uppsala Auktionskammare, 27-28 May 2005, lot 1112.
At the time of the above sale, Valentin Skurlov had already discovered that the fourth box, executed by Koechli and presented to General Major N. Shipov in 1891 was sold back to the Imperial Cabinet, which was a common practice.
The same box was later presented at a cost of 1,676 roubles to the French General Tournier on 3 December 1896 by the Emperor Nicholas II (see Uppsala Auktionskammare, 27-28 May 2005, lot 1112).
Based on Valentin Skurlov's past research and the fact that the miniature of the present snuff-box depicts Emperor Nicholas II with a set of Russian decorations issued not later than 1896, General Tournier is the only possible recipient of this Imperial presentation snuff-box.
General Marie Charles Justin Tournier
From November 1894 to January 1895, Marie Charles Justin Tournier was the director of the infantry at the Ministry of War. He then served as the head of the military household of the French President until 1897. He was appointed Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur in 1906.
Anna Gould
Anna Gould (1875-1961) was the daughter of the American financier, Jay Gould. She first developed her taste for expensive antiques through her marriage in 1895 to Paul Ernest Boniface (1867-1932), the Comte de Castellane. Boni, as the Comte was nicknamed, delighted in pink marble palaces, Old Master paintings and curios as well as in entertaining on the grand scale. The extravagances of Boni's taste proved too great for Anna and she divorced him in 1906 after he had squandered ten million dollars of her family money. Anna Gould then married Boni's cousin, Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Sagan (1859-1937) in 1908 and gained the title of Duchess of Talleyrand. When the Duke died in 1937, Anna decided to return to America and in 1919 purchased her family's vast estate of Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York. Her 550 acres were surpassed in size only by the 3,500 acres of the Rockefellers' private estate at Pocantico Hills (F. Kintrea, 'The Realms of Gould', American Heritage Magazine, April 1970, volume 21, issue 3).
We are thankful to Valentin Skurlov for his assistance in researching the Imperial Cabinet ledgers related to the present Koechli Imperial presentation snuff-box.
We are thankful for Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm for her assistance in researching the history of the present Koechli Imperial presentation snuff-box.
We are thankful to Gerard Gorokhoff for his assistance in identifying the uniform depicted in the portrait miniature.