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BREAD AND SALT DISH

Creator(s): Pavel Ovchinnikov (Firm)

On view in: Pavilion


About this object

Artisans at the firm of Pavel Ovchinnikov created this luxurious platter. The rim has three painted enamel miniatures set against plaques decorated with filigree enamel. The miniatures depict Emperor Alexander III (top), Empress Maria Fedorovna (right), and the future Nicholas II (left). The inscription executed in champlevé enamel around the imperial coat of arms reads: "To their Imperial Majesties the Sovereign Emperor Alexander III and Sovereign Empress Maria Fedorovna on the day of their Blessed Coronation from their Loyal Subjects the Citizens of the Town of Ivanovo-Voznesensk." Many of the provincial dignitaries attending his 1883 coronation presented Alexander III with bread and salt, traditional offerings of welcome, in an elaborate ceremony held in the Kremlin Palace.

Cast in low relief and applied to the center of the dish is the imperial coat of arms: the double-headed eagle on an ermine mantel surmounted by a helmet with inscription.The helmet is toped by the imperial crown. The backside of the mantel is enameled in red. On rim is an elaborate rinceau decoration in repousse edged on inner side with acanthus leaves and on the outer side by a motif of two pearls alternating with an oval. Plaques decorated with filigree enamel are applied to a raised and gilded interlace pattern around the rim of the dish. Three miniatures feature Emperor Alexander III at the top, Empress Maria Fedorovna on the right, and the future Nicholas II as tsarevich on the left. The plaque at the bottom contains the city coat of arms of Ivanovo-Vosnesensk, one of the country's largest textile manufacturing centers. Portrait miniatures are executed in painted enamel and together with city coat-of-arms plaque are framed by the border of darts alternating in turquoise and blue. Between these miniatures is a dart shaped motif decorated in enamel and bordered by turquoise dots. On each side of these is a rectangular panel with a half circle on each side all in enamel. Around the imperial coat of arms there is an inscription executed in champleve enamel.

Object name:
BREAD AND SALT DISH
Made from:
Silver gilt -- enamel
Made in:
Moscow, Russia
Date made:
1883
Size:
52.7 cm (20 3/4 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
15.202
Class:
ENAMEL
Signature marks:
MARK; INSCRIPTION on back: mark of Ovchinnikov in Cyrillic surmounted by the imperial crown, St. George and the Dragon, illegible mark for tester and date, 84; inscription on front: God with Us; To the Imperial Majesties The Sovereign Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich and Sovereign Empress Maria Feodorovna on the Day of Their Blessed Coronation From Their Loyal Subjects the Citizens of the Town of Ivanovo-Vosnesensk
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973