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Lot Essay
One of the finest surviving examples of eighteenth-century Russian goldsmiths’ art, this magnificent gold cup by David Rudolph was presented to Count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov by the City and Governorate of St. Petersburg in 1790 in recognition of his military service. Crafted from three color tones of the finest 21-carat gold, and finished in a contrast of highly polished and matte textures, the Cup is an exquisite masterpiece and a rare survival.
The Saltykov Cup was acquired by Emperor Nicholas II for his personal collection in 1908 and subsequently sold by the Soviet government, appearing at Christie’s on one previous occasion at the Russian State Jewels sale in 1927.
Acquired from Hammer Galleries by Matilda Geddings Gray after 1955 and unseen in public for decades, the re-emergence of the highly important Saltykov Cup marks an exceptional moment, celebrating Matilda Gray’s discerning eye for craftsmanship and her passion for historically significant objects.
COUNT IVAN SALTYKOV AND THE GOLD CUP
Count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov (1730-1805) was a Russian field marshal and statesman who served as Governor-General of Moscow from 1797 to 1804. Having entered military service at the age of fifteen, he rose through the ranks during the Seven Years’ War and the Russo-Turkish Wars.
In 1790, during the Russo-Swedish War, Empress Catherine II appointed Saltykov to command the army based in Finland. During this campaign, the Battle of Pardakoski-Kärnakoski occurred under his command, where the Russian forces were defeated. Shortly thereafter, hostilities came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Värälä later that year.
In recognition of his service, Saltykov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew with Diamonds, the highest distinction of the Russian Empire, and was given the present gold cup by the City and Governorate of St. Petersburg.
Saltykov retired in 1804 and moved to St. Petersburg, living in the home of his wealthy daughter Praskovia Myatleva (1772-1859) and her husband Pyotr Myatlev (1756-1833). Following Saltykov’s death in 1805, the cup passed into their possession.
It was subsequently inherited by their son Ivan Myatlev (1796-1844), a poet and close associate of Alexander Pushkin, and thereafter descended to his son Vladimir Myatlev (1830-1900) and his wife Varvara Myatleva (1847-1908). Vladimir Myatlev was a renowned collector who donated much of his collection to the Hermitage Museum during his lifetime, while retaining the Saltykov Cup.
ACQUISITION OF THE SALTYKOV CUP BY EMPEROR NICHOLAS II
The newly discovered documents from the Russian State Historical Archive provide compelling and previously unknown provenance for the Saltykov Cup. In January 1908, Emperor Nicholas II acquired the Cup from Varvara Myatleva, widow of Vladimir Myatlev (fig. 2, 3).
He paid the substantial sum of 6,000 roubles for it, an amount nearly equivalent to the cost of one of the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs commissioned that same year, the Peacock Egg, priced at 8,300 roubles.
Following the acquisition, the Imperial Cabinet commissioned a formal expert valuation (fig. 4). A document dated 1 February 1908 records that the Cup was examined by a panel of leading jewelers, including Carl Fabergé, his son Agathon Fabergé, Dmitry Hahn (son of Karl Hahn), and Edward Bolin (son of Carl Bolin) (fig. 5). The panel assessed the Cup’s value at 3,000 roubles in terms of its ‘material and artistic value’, which suggests that the decision to pay premium price was driven by Nicholas II’s appreciation of the historical significance of the Saltykov Cup.
Interestingly, the experts suggested that the Cup might have been made by Otto Samuel Keibel (1768-1807). However, Keibel did not move to St. Petersburg until 1797 and therefore cannot have been its maker. Instead, one of the archival documents detailing the Cabinet's purchases and commissions for 1790 lists the gold cup and confirms that it was commissioned to the celebrated jeweler David Rudolph at the impressive cost of 4,042.50 roubles (fig. 1; also see L. Kuznetsova, Peterburgskie yuveliry. Vek vosemnadtsatiy, brilliantoviy [Jewelers of St. Petersburg. Eighteenth Century, Diamond Age], Moscow, 2009, p. 353).
Rudolph was born in Copenhagen and was registered as a goldsmith in St. Petersburg from 1779 until after 1793. His works are exceptionally rare, and only two jeweled bonbonnières by him are known: one in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, and another from the Gilbert Collection, now on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
THE SALTYKOV CUP AFTER THE REVOLUTION
In September 1917, shortly before the outbreak of the October Revolution, the Saltykov Cup was transferred by the Provisional Government to the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow for safekeeping, together with the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs and many other valuables belonging to the Romanov family. Contemporary records note that the Cup had been kept in the personal apartments of Nicholas II at the Alexander Palace, Tsarskoe Selo, and that the Emperor himself packed it for dispatch to Moscow (T. Tutova, The Fate of the Palace Treasures of the Russian Imperial House, Moscow, 2015, vol. 2, p. 91).
On 1 March 1922, the Cup was selected by the Special Comission for Gokhran (a State Fund that was responsible for managing and selling confiscated Imperial jewels) and was described in the inventories as ‘a very rich and artistical specimen, worthy of being placed in the National Museum, as a historical relic’ (fig. 7; see A.E. Fersman, Russia's treasure of diamonds and precious stones, Moscow, 1926, Part 4, p. 24).
A number of photographs dating from the 1920s survive, showing the Saltykov Cup displayed alongside the Romanov regalia and several Fabergé Easter Eggs (fig. 6, 8). This period coincided with the early years of the Soviet government’s sale of masterpieces from nationalized collections, including the personal possessions of the Romanovs. In need of money, the regime sold many treasures to collectors and dealers in Europe and the United States.
The Saltykov Cup was acquired by the British antiques dealer Norman Weiss, who purchased approximately nine kilograms of jewelry and precious stones from the Soviet government for the total sum of £50,000. This collection was subsequently offered at Christie’s during the landmark Russian State Jewels sale on 16 March 1927, where it was broken up into 124 separate lots, including the Saltykov Cup.
By the late 1930s, the Cup had entered the collection of Armand Hammer, who clearly regarded it as one of his most important possessions. He exhibited it at the international exhibition Chefs-d’œuvre de la curiosité du monde in Paris in 1954 and featured it on the cover of Apollo magazine in January 1955 (fig. 9). It was likely around this time that the Cup was acquired from Hammer Galleries by Matilda Geddings Gray, who evidently recognized its exceptional historical significance, just as Nicholas II had done in 1908.
The reappearance of the Saltykov Cup at Christie’s represents an extraordinary opportunity for collectors to acquire an object of outstanding historical importance and a superb example of eighteenth-century goldsmiths’ work, once part of the most treasured possessions of the Romanov dynasty.
We are grateful to Dmitry Krivoshey for his assistance with the research of the present lot.
The Saltykov Cup was acquired by Emperor Nicholas II for his personal collection in 1908 and subsequently sold by the Soviet government, appearing at Christie’s on one previous occasion at the Russian State Jewels sale in 1927.
Acquired from Hammer Galleries by Matilda Geddings Gray after 1955 and unseen in public for decades, the re-emergence of the highly important Saltykov Cup marks an exceptional moment, celebrating Matilda Gray’s discerning eye for craftsmanship and her passion for historically significant objects.
COUNT IVAN SALTYKOV AND THE GOLD CUP
Count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov (1730-1805) was a Russian field marshal and statesman who served as Governor-General of Moscow from 1797 to 1804. Having entered military service at the age of fifteen, he rose through the ranks during the Seven Years’ War and the Russo-Turkish Wars.
In 1790, during the Russo-Swedish War, Empress Catherine II appointed Saltykov to command the army based in Finland. During this campaign, the Battle of Pardakoski-Kärnakoski occurred under his command, where the Russian forces were defeated. Shortly thereafter, hostilities came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Värälä later that year.
In recognition of his service, Saltykov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew with Diamonds, the highest distinction of the Russian Empire, and was given the present gold cup by the City and Governorate of St. Petersburg.
Saltykov retired in 1804 and moved to St. Petersburg, living in the home of his wealthy daughter Praskovia Myatleva (1772-1859) and her husband Pyotr Myatlev (1756-1833). Following Saltykov’s death in 1805, the cup passed into their possession.
It was subsequently inherited by their son Ivan Myatlev (1796-1844), a poet and close associate of Alexander Pushkin, and thereafter descended to his son Vladimir Myatlev (1830-1900) and his wife Varvara Myatleva (1847-1908). Vladimir Myatlev was a renowned collector who donated much of his collection to the Hermitage Museum during his lifetime, while retaining the Saltykov Cup.
ACQUISITION OF THE SALTYKOV CUP BY EMPEROR NICHOLAS II
The newly discovered documents from the Russian State Historical Archive provide compelling and previously unknown provenance for the Saltykov Cup. In January 1908, Emperor Nicholas II acquired the Cup from Varvara Myatleva, widow of Vladimir Myatlev (fig. 2, 3).
He paid the substantial sum of 6,000 roubles for it, an amount nearly equivalent to the cost of one of the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs commissioned that same year, the Peacock Egg, priced at 8,300 roubles.
Following the acquisition, the Imperial Cabinet commissioned a formal expert valuation (fig. 4). A document dated 1 February 1908 records that the Cup was examined by a panel of leading jewelers, including Carl Fabergé, his son Agathon Fabergé, Dmitry Hahn (son of Karl Hahn), and Edward Bolin (son of Carl Bolin) (fig. 5). The panel assessed the Cup’s value at 3,000 roubles in terms of its ‘material and artistic value’, which suggests that the decision to pay premium price was driven by Nicholas II’s appreciation of the historical significance of the Saltykov Cup.
Interestingly, the experts suggested that the Cup might have been made by Otto Samuel Keibel (1768-1807). However, Keibel did not move to St. Petersburg until 1797 and therefore cannot have been its maker. Instead, one of the archival documents detailing the Cabinet's purchases and commissions for 1790 lists the gold cup and confirms that it was commissioned to the celebrated jeweler David Rudolph at the impressive cost of 4,042.50 roubles (fig. 1; also see L. Kuznetsova, Peterburgskie yuveliry. Vek vosemnadtsatiy, brilliantoviy [Jewelers of St. Petersburg. Eighteenth Century, Diamond Age], Moscow, 2009, p. 353).
Rudolph was born in Copenhagen and was registered as a goldsmith in St. Petersburg from 1779 until after 1793. His works are exceptionally rare, and only two jeweled bonbonnières by him are known: one in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, and another from the Gilbert Collection, now on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
THE SALTYKOV CUP AFTER THE REVOLUTION
In September 1917, shortly before the outbreak of the October Revolution, the Saltykov Cup was transferred by the Provisional Government to the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow for safekeeping, together with the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs and many other valuables belonging to the Romanov family. Contemporary records note that the Cup had been kept in the personal apartments of Nicholas II at the Alexander Palace, Tsarskoe Selo, and that the Emperor himself packed it for dispatch to Moscow (T. Tutova, The Fate of the Palace Treasures of the Russian Imperial House, Moscow, 2015, vol. 2, p. 91).
On 1 March 1922, the Cup was selected by the Special Comission for Gokhran (a State Fund that was responsible for managing and selling confiscated Imperial jewels) and was described in the inventories as ‘a very rich and artistical specimen, worthy of being placed in the National Museum, as a historical relic’ (fig. 7; see A.E. Fersman, Russia's treasure of diamonds and precious stones, Moscow, 1926, Part 4, p. 24).
A number of photographs dating from the 1920s survive, showing the Saltykov Cup displayed alongside the Romanov regalia and several Fabergé Easter Eggs (fig. 6, 8). This period coincided with the early years of the Soviet government’s sale of masterpieces from nationalized collections, including the personal possessions of the Romanovs. In need of money, the regime sold many treasures to collectors and dealers in Europe and the United States.
The Saltykov Cup was acquired by the British antiques dealer Norman Weiss, who purchased approximately nine kilograms of jewelry and precious stones from the Soviet government for the total sum of £50,000. This collection was subsequently offered at Christie’s during the landmark Russian State Jewels sale on 16 March 1927, where it was broken up into 124 separate lots, including the Saltykov Cup.
By the late 1930s, the Cup had entered the collection of Armand Hammer, who clearly regarded it as one of his most important possessions. He exhibited it at the international exhibition Chefs-d’œuvre de la curiosité du monde in Paris in 1954 and featured it on the cover of Apollo magazine in January 1955 (fig. 9). It was likely around this time that the Cup was acquired from Hammer Galleries by Matilda Geddings Gray, who evidently recognized its exceptional historical significance, just as Nicholas II had done in 1908.
The reappearance of the Saltykov Cup at Christie’s represents an extraordinary opportunity for collectors to acquire an object of outstanding historical importance and a superb example of eighteenth-century goldsmiths’ work, once part of the most treasured possessions of the Romanov dynasty.
We are grateful to Dmitry Krivoshey for his assistance with the research of the present lot.