Peoples of Russia
22nd February 2024
Seven figures depicting the different ethnic groups in early 20th century Russia have sold at auction for nearly £125,000.
The porcelain figures were made at the Imperial Factory in St Petersburg at the request of Tsar Nicholas II and included 73 different ethnicities, a total of 146 figures.
“The series sounds impressive, but it was initially supposed to include 400 figures in total. In fact, the enterprise was cut short by the 1917 Russian Revolution,” explained porcelain specialist, Clare Durham of Woolley and Wallis, where the figures were sold.
The extensive set was commissioned to celebrate 300 years of the Romanov rule in Russia and updated an earlier 18th century set that was inspired by a book by ethnographer and traveller, Johann Gottlieb Georghi.
“The idea was to celebrate the diverse costumes and cultures that made up the Russian Empire in the early 20th century,” continued Durham. “The later set was based on a census carried out in 1897 – the first general census of the Russian Empire. They were sculpted by the artist Pavel Kamensky and are extremely lifelike, albeit in miniature.”
The figures sold at auction on 21st February had been consigned by an English vendor whose ancestor had acquired them in Latvia while working for the British Legation in the 1920s. This was the first time they had been sold in 100 years. They flew beyond their conservative estimates to sell for a premium inclusive £123,480, with the top lot being a 15 inch high figure of a Chinese man that sold for £27,720.
“These are near record prices for figures from this series, which is incredible given the current situation in that part of the world,” Durham conceded. “It’s impossible to know how much impact world events have on auctions but we erred very heavily on the side of caution.”
The figures were purchased by three buyers from the UK and the US, bidding on the telephone and online against multiple other bidders whose pockets were not as capacious.
