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Lot Essay
The present lot belonged to Jean Herbette (1878-1960), the first French Ambassador to the Soviet Union. He was appointed upon the resumption of diplomatic relations between France and the Soviet Union in December 1924. During their six years in Leningrad, he and his wife became passionate collectors of Russian objects, particularly pieces evocative of the Imperial past. In the 1920s, when the Soviet government first released objects from museum collections for hard currency, a number of foreign ambassadors including Jean Herbette purchased important works of art.
The impressive collection that the Herbettes amassed from both private sources and the Soviet Sate was sold at Christie’s, Geneva, 25-26 May 1971.
For a similar nielloed Imperial Presentation kovsh, also engraved with the cypher of Emperor Alexander I, see A. Odom, Russian Silver in America: Surviving the Melting Pot, London, 2011, p. 126 and p. 129. A comparable parcel-gilt silver and niello presentation kovsh was sold Christie's, London, 2 June 2014, lot 385.
The impressive collection that the Herbettes amassed from both private sources and the Soviet Sate was sold at Christie’s, Geneva, 25-26 May 1971.
For a similar nielloed Imperial Presentation kovsh, also engraved with the cypher of Emperor Alexander I, see A. Odom, Russian Silver in America: Surviving the Melting Pot, London, 2011, p. 126 and p. 129. A comparable parcel-gilt silver and niello presentation kovsh was sold Christie's, London, 2 June 2014, lot 385.