Russian Icons and Easter Eggs from the Tsar family

Icons from Norwegian private collections, Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna’s beautiful shawl and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna’s Russian Easter eggs – we focus on art and antiques from the Russian Tsar period at this year's final international auction in Bredgade and a subsequent online auction.

1 December 2017

Novgorod School, 16th century: A Russian "shestodnev" six days icon depicting the liturgical week. Tempera on wood panel with a kovcheg. 28.5 x 23 cm. Estimate: DKK 300,000-400,000.

Mikhail Perchin, Fabergé, St. Petersburg c. 1900: A Russian Easter egg enamel pendant. Provenance; Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922). Estimate: DKK 18,000-20,000.

Henrik Wigström, Fabergé, St. Petersburg 1896-1908: A Russian gem-set, silver-gilt and guilloché enamel cigarette case. 1908-1917. Weight c. 152 g. L. 9.5 cm. Estimate: DKK 150,000.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin: Russian summer landscape at Ostrovki near the Neva River. Signed Shiskin Ostrovki (in Cyrillic). Oil on cardboard. 35 x 40 cm. Estimate: DKK 400,000-500,000.

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NB: View the special rules for bidding

In the wake of the auction success this summer, where we sold Russian icons for millions of Danish Kroner, we now follow up with another large auction of art and antiques from Russia. We have once more chosen to publish these artefacts in a special catalogue, and here you are guaranteed a high dose of quality, beauty and historic value! The most spectacular lots will be exhibited at the Royal Danish Embassy in London on 27-28 November in connection with Russian Art Week.

Icons from the Commercial Attaché Richard Zeiner-Henriksen’s Collection

At the summer's auction, it was especially the icons from the Norwegian commercial attaché Richard Zeiner-Henriksen's (1878-1965) private art collection that wrote themselves into auction history. This time we can present three more icons from his collection – one from the Novgorod school in the 16th century with six scenes from Jesus' life and one from the 17th century Yaroslavl school with a depiction of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The last of the three icons originates from the Stroganov School in the 17th century, which, in accordance with the iconographic tradition, depicts John the Baptist with his own decapitated head in a gilded chalice. The icon is thus both a depiction of a martyr and of his martyrdom. Read more about the collection.

Commercial Attaché Einar Krane’s Private Russian Art Collection

Einar Krane (1885-1958) was another Norwegian commercial attaché who was employed at the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow during the first half of the 20th century. He married Russian Ekaterina, who inherited a large art collection from her father. During the following years, the Krane couple expanded on the collection with several icons and antiques. Despite the chaotic situation during the Second World War, the Kranes managed to get large parts of the art collection with them out of the country after they decided to move back to Scandinavia in 1946. From this collection, we have a cup from 1834 from the Imperial Glass Works engraved with the Alexander Column in front of the Winter Palace. The collection also includes three fine icons from the Novgorod school in the 17th century that depict the Mother of God Vladimirskaya, the protection of the Mother of God and the church maker St. Antoni. Today, the National Gallery in Oslo and the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm own several icons from Krane's collection. Read more about the collection here.

Another private collection of Russian icons from the late 16th century to around 1750 has also found its way to the auction. Several of the icons come from the Danish collector Erik Sommer (1921-2013) who collected these religious motifs for more than 30 years. In 1988 he also wrote the first book in Denmark about Russian icons. Read more about the collection here.

Antiques from the Russian Tsar family

Many of the auction's artefacts originate from the Russian Tsar family. Most notable are those from the female part of the family – Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna of Russia, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark. We begin with Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna’s beautiful white shawl with Brussels lace from the 1860s and continue with Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna, who married Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz (III) of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1879. From her collection of jewellery comes a series of colourful Easter eggs of gold, precious stones and enamel. Read more about the collection here. They have in several cases been made by the famous Russian jeweller Fabergé – by leading workmasters such as August Holmström and Mikhail Perchin. We also take a closer look at the possessions of the Grand Duchess Anastasia's daughter, Queen Alexandrine, which include a magnifying glass, a business card case, a card box and an Easter egg. Read more about the collection here.

Masterful Motifs from Russia

With Russia's rich tradition within the visual arts, we dive into four works by Ilya Repin, one of the country's greatest realist painters of the 19th century. The works depict two Cossacks, a cripple and a soldier from the Black Sea. The contemporary landscape painter Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is represented with a summer motif found at Ostrovki by the Neva River near Saint Petersburg.

Auction and Preview

The international auction of Russian art and antiques will take place at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen on Friday, 1 December at 2 pm. View the times of the preview here.

The subsequent online auction will be held on Monday, 4 December from 5:30 pm. The preview will take place at Sundkrogsgade 30 in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn and at Søren Frichs Vej 34 D in Aarhus from Saturday, 25 November and until the day of the auction.