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Purchased by “Horsens Museum” in June 2016.
FROM THE RUSSIAN COURT IN HORSENS, DENMARK:
Augsburg Rococo silver bowl with cover, gilt interior, oval shape with two cast leaf handles, the sides engraved respectively with mitre crowned monogram CEAP for Catharina, Elisabeth, Alexis and Peter of Braunschweig-Lüneburg Wolfenbüttel, pretenders to the Russian Imperial throne, and a Danish inscription “Daabsgave til Catharina Elisabeth Lillienskiold, Den 6te Febr: 1782, fra de 4 fyrstelige Södskende paa Palaiet i Horsens” (baptismal gift to Catharina Elisabeth Lillienskiold, 6th of Febr. 1782, from the four princely siblings at the palace in Horsens), the cover with pomegranate finial. Reverse engraved with assay scrape. Maker Gustav Friedrich Gerich, Augsburg 1777–1779. Weight 443 gr. L. 23 cm.
Princess Catharina of Braunschweig-Lüneburg Wolfenbüttel: Interior with two fluted columns, each with two silhouette-cuts in mitre crowned frames, depicting the four Russian Princesses and Princes, between the columns a porthole with an ocean view from their journey from Russia to Denmark, furthermore a cartouche dated “Anno 1780, Den 7de July” with indistinct dedication to “Lillienskjold 1784”. Watercolour on paper. Visible size 25.5×34.5 cm. Period frame. (2).
The Russian Court in Horsens existed 1780–1807, where the town were residence of Princess Catharina (1741–1807), Princess Elisabeth (1743–1782), Prince Peter (1745–1798) and Prince Alexis (1746–1787) of Braunschweig-Lüneburg Wolfenbüttel. The exile was based on the struggles for the Russian throne between the descendants of Tsar Peter the Great and his brother, Tsar Ivan V.
Tsaritsa Anna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Ivan V, ruled 1730–1740. The four above mentioned siblings were Tsaritsa Anna of Russia's niece's children. Their third brother, Ivan (1740–1764), was proclaimed Tsar Ivan VI of Russia in 1740 under the regency of his mother, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg, married to Prince Anton Ulrik of Braunschweig. However, already in 1741 he was dethroned by Tsaritsa Elisabeth of Russia, daughter of Tsar Peter the Great. Subsequent, Tsar Ivan VI died in captivity in 1764, 23 years old. His parents were also put in prison with their eldest daughter, as they were a threat to Tsaritsa Elisabeth. The first prison was in Riga and from 1744 at Kholmogory Island in the river Dvina in Northern Russia, and the three younger children were all born in prison. The parents, Princess Anna and Prince Anton, died in 1746 and in 1774 respectively. Hereafter, at the request of Tsaritsa Catherine the Great and through Prince Anton's sister, Queen Juliane Marie of Denmark, the four siblings moved to live in exile in Horsens from 1780. After more than 30 years in captivity they were now a minor threat to Tsaritsa Catherine the Great, who preferred to have them pacified in Denmark.
Literature: H.E. Friis, “Det russiske Fyrstehof i Horsens fra 1780–1807”, Copenhagen 1895. The silhouette-drawing is reproduced at page 132–133.
Provenance: The bowl is a christening gift to Catharina Elisabeth Lillienskjold, daughter of the present owner's great-great-great-grandfather, Anton Jacob Lillienskiold, who was Lord Chamberlain at the Russian Court in Horsens. The silhouette drawing is a gift from Princess Catharina to Anton Jacob Lillienskiold in 1784.
Condition report on request.
Russian + varia & furniture, 2 June 2016