Cloisonné enamel and silver-gilt beaker by Pavel Ovchinnikov

This silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel beaker, raised on a circular foot, is of tapering cylindrical form. The body of the beaker is profusely decorated with cloisonné enamelwork, wrought from blue, green, red, and white variecoloured enamels, and arranged into a variety of scrolling foliate and geometrical forms, each individual moment of colour contained by a cell comprised of ropetwist cloison wire. The decorative scheme is rich and varied: abstracted, geometrical motifs predominate, but hints of foliage intermingle with the more stylised forms. The enamel is set against a stippled silver-gilt ground, which further accents the silver-gilt cloison wire.

The beaker is engraved inside the upper rim with ornate initials ‘SA’ and the date ‘1896’, while the underside of the base is marked with a set of distinct stamps, which include the imperial warrant and the maker’s mark ‘AO’, for Pavel Ovchinnikov. The beaker is accompanied by its original fitted wooden case, which is inscribed on the inside of the lid in Cyrillic.

Beaker: Height 14.5cm, diameter 9cm
Box: Height 11cm, width 20cm, depth 16cm