CIRCA 1860

Beginning in the mid-18th century the fashion in Russia for coloured stone as a decorative enhancement to objets d'art, furniture, and interiors lead to demand for raw materials and to the excavation of mineral resources throughout the deposit rich empire. Largely funded by the deep pockets of the imperial administration, Empire-wide search lead to the discovery of various previously unrecorded hardstones including red and green striped Kushkuldin jasper first found in 1756 and a main feature of the present lot.  It was this rare green / red banded Kushkuldinsk jasper, along with red Urovsk and grey Kalkansk jasper which was used to line the walls and doors of the 'Agate Room', alternatively referred to as the 'Jasper Closet', at Tsarkoe Selo, commissioned by Catherine the Great.