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The brilliant, jewel-like surfaces of this small folding triptych (three panels hinged together) are characteristic of painting in enamel on copper which was a specialty of Limoges. The vibrancy and surface richness possible with this technique made it attractive for decorating personal objects. They had to be fairly small because of the relatively small sheets of copper then available.
Pénicaud was a great enamelist and the founder of a successful workshop carried on by his heirs. Like many contemporary enamelists, however, he did not compose the religious images he executed. This scene is based on a woodcut published in Paris in 1505. The French woodcut was, in turn, derived from a German engraving. Originality was not as important then as it is today; what mattered most was the quality of the product. This exquisite triptych was clearly held in high esteem as it was the model for several others.
French
framed: 13 3/8 x 20 1/4 x 7/8 in. (34 x 51.5 x 2.2 cm)
plan view: 17 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (44.5 x 13.4 cm)
medium: painted and gilded enamel on copper
style: Renaissance
culture: French
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Fabergé’s craftsmen in Moscow, especially under the watchful eye of workmaster Feodor Rückert, became known for their work in the pan-Slavic or neo-Russian style, hearkening back to 17th-century motifs of Russian folk art. Often on rather conventional shapes, Rückert and his silversmiths created an explosion of color, achieved through the historic technique of cloisonné enamel in which tiny metal lines are soldered to the surface then filled with glass powders in various colors and fired to create a high gloss finish. The result is a spectacular evocation of the 17th-century originals. Far from mere copies, however, Rückert's designs, such as this tea service, employ naturalistic or abstract motifs in a thoroughly modern adaptation of a remarkable earlier period of Russian art and decoration.
Russia, St. Petersburg
silver gilt, opaque cloisonné enamel
Overall: 17.2 x 5.9 cm (6 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
Did you know...
This tea strainer is part of a larger tea service.
The India Early Minshall Collection
Charles Willson Peale
American, Chester, Maryland 1741–1827 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
50 1/8 x 40 1/4 in. (127 x 101.8 cm)
medium: Oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 22.153.2 1922
Egleston Fund, 1922