Vase in neo-Russian style. Kuznetsovs factory in Dulevo, 1890

A large flowerpot with a sculptural image made in an oriental motif is a large bowl with a high cylindrical body, resting on a flat pedestal (four-bladed) and supported by two fairy-tale animals with the head of a dragon and the legs of a bird. Fancy polychrome coloring with geometric and other patterns is made in bright and contrasting colors. The surface of the pot is decorated with multi-colored friezes in relief with stylized cartouches, inlaid with ivy leaf motifs, edged with pearl friezes, the upper edge of the pot is decorated with 8-pointed stars. In general, the ornamental pattern is formed by decorative elements characteristic of similar porcelain paintings of this era. The glaze coating gives the item shine. The author of the sketch of the flowerpot model is A.S. Kaminsky (1829-1897), Moscow architect and artist, professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, husband of P. M. Tretyakov’s sister (founder and owner of the art gallery of the same name). For the first time such a flower pot was made at a factory in the Tver province, which belonged to S.I. Maslennikov in the 1880s (the factory was founded by Auerbach). Maslennikovs factory was famous in Russia for its majolica products used to decorate chapels, as well as mugs made for the coronation of Emperor Alexander III. After a fire occurred at the factory in 1889, it was acquired by M.S. Kuznetsov, and its owner went to work for the new owner, where he worked until 1896. As M.S. Kuznetsov practiced, along with the purchase of the factory he stipulated the right to use and repeat the factory’s old models. Sometimes, with such a purchase, he also stipulated the use of an old production mark (for example, the Gardner plant - the use of the last trademark of the enterprise with a double-headed eagle, the use of surviving models of products for the manufacture of repetitions; the Auerbach plant - the image of a double-headed eagle in the trademark). Under the leadership of Kuznetsov, the company began producing majolica products in 1885. Presumably, in the early 1890s, M.S. Kuznetsov’s enterprise produced a small batch of S.M. Maslennikov’s flowerpots intended for public sale. An identical vase is kept in the collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow (GIM No. 112833). - A vase of a similar style was presented at the Russian Art” auction at Sothebys on November 30, 2016, lot 126A Majolica, textured processing, painting with enamel paints. Mark of the M.S. Kuznetsov factory in the Tver province, Vyshnevolotsk district, Chernyatka village (former S.I. Maslennikov factory). The production mark is embossed and made in dough. The model number indicated in the price list of the factorys products is 671 (in the test) and the foundrys index (?) is 26 (in the test). The condition of the item is very good. Slight abrasion of paint along the upper edge of the flowerpot. Height - 33.0 cm. Flowerpot: diameter - 21.0 cm, height - 23.0 cm. Pedestal (flat, four-blade): length - 29.0; width -18.0 cm.