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Harlamoff's Favourite Model

With the artist Alexei Alexeievich Harlamoff (1840-1925) we see a little girl with dark curly hair and pearl jewellery in a portrait from 1887. Harlamoff was born into a family of serfs in the village of Dyachevka in western Russia, but his interest in the world of art led him to the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1854. He quickly made a name for himself and received numerous awards over the following years, and both Tsaritsa Maria Alexandrovna and the Danish-born Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna were among his customers. For a long time, Harlamoff lived in France and Italy where he experienced the European art scene first-hand and exhibited a number of his works in prominent places such as the Salon and the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878. Perhaps his upbringing influenced his preferred choice of genre, in which, as in the offered painting, he reproduced the everyday life of poor children. His art, however, was not fuelled by social indignation, but rather the goal of providing a realistic and loving portrayal of the children in his immediate environment. Along with the artist's portraits of the European and Russian elite, it was these depictions of children that made Harlamoff famous, also outside of Russia. The charming little girl in the painting was among his favourite models, and the work is currently owned by a descendant of "Europe's in-laws", Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark.

Inspired by Ice Crystals

From the traditional works of art, we move forward in time along more modern currents with a porcelain vase from the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The vase is an example of how experimental and ahead of their time the artists were with decorative art in Russia before the Russian Revolution. The round vase is decorated with liquid glaze in red, blue and purple.

A rare diamond and platinum pendant from Fabergé in St. Petersburg is also modern in its expression. The jewellery has an asymmetrical, octagonal shape and was designed by Alma Pihl. She was the granddaughter of the leading Fabergé jeweller August Holmström and therefore almost destined for a career in the famous company. From 1911 and onwards, Dr Emanuel Nobel, from the Nobel oil empire, ordered several pieces of jewellery at Fabergé, which he would give as gifts to family members and wives of corporate partners. Alma, who was only 23 at the time, was given the design assignment. Inspired by the ice crystals on the workshop's windows and the sun's rays through them she based the Dr Nobel Jewellery Collection on a similar winter theme. It became her most significant contribution to the production at Fabergé.

Other highlights of the auction include a patinated bronze sculpture from 1855 by sculptor Ernest Julius Wilhelm Mehnert. The sculpture depicts Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. In addition, Pavel Akimov Ovchinnikov's traditional Russian silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel candlesticks, a silver-gilt tankard from 18th century Moscow and several artefacts with imperial and royal provenances can also be found among the treasures of the auction.