Offered by Kollenburg Antiquairs BV
A large, stately ornamental vase of ruby red glass comprising three sections. The base consists of a straight, faceted column with fourteen vertical faces. Set atop this is the vase body, reminiscent of the Medici vase in shape and contoured with ten facets. The body is in turn surmounted by a decorative lid with small, cut shields and ten straight vertical facets around its circumference.
Gold ruby glass is a red glass made by adding gold chloride, a colloidal solution created by dissolving metallic gold in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), to the molten glass mixture; small amounts of tin may also be added. The process is both difficult and expensive. Cranberry glass is a different kind of glass also made using gold, though the quantity of gold chloride added is lower, resulting in a delicate pink colour.
In 1777, glass and mirror factories were built in St Petersburg near the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, in the Obvodny Canal area, by order of Count G.A. Potemkin. Over time, these factories evolved into an entire complex of buildings focused on glass production. The factory workers settled there as well, and the location came to be known as Glass Town. After the count’s death in 1791, the factories were bought out by the state treasury, and thus became the Imperial Glass Factory.
The Imperial Glass Factory specialised in coloured glass: various shades of blue and red, as well as pink, green and purple. One of the factory’s main specialties was the production of brilliantly coloured glass, based on a formula discovered in 1750 by the eminent scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765). During the reign of Alexander I (Tsar from 1801 to 1825), the factory developed various new glass-cutting techniques. The objects thus crafted – made of cut coloured glass and mounted in gilt bronze – rank among the most impressive art pieces created during Alexander I’s reign.
The Imperial Glass Factory’s production was overseen by various artistic directors, referred to as “inventors”, a position generally filled by a prominent Russian artist or architect, whose contributions were crucial to the factory’s success. They were the driving force behind the workshops’ output, supplying designs for the glassblowers and glasscutters as well as the bronzeworkers who crafted the mounts for vases, bowls and tazzas. Jean Thomas de Thomon served in this position from 1804 to 1813, Karl Rossi from 1813 to 1819, and Ivan Ivanov from 1819 to 1848. The vase discussed here was almost certainly produced during the latter’s tenure.
The Imperial Glass Factory supplied numerous table service sets and ornamental objects to the Russian imperial family and their court, as well as to the various royal houses of Europe. Orders could only be placed with the express permission of the Imperial Cabinet. The factory also served as an official supplier of imperial diplomatic gifts, which were presented to royal families and leaders around the world to showcase Russia’s wealth and craftsmanship.
Literature:
Imperial Glass Factory. 1777-1917, 225th Foundation Day Anniversary, Hermitage museum, St. Petersburg
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