Tea tray, cake stands, jam dish, sugar bowls, coffee pot and milk jug

Martin Guillaume Biennais, c. 1817

This is not just any service. These objects belong to a huge coffee and tea service that originally comprised more than a thousand pieces. The Russian tsar Nicholas I bought it from the French silversmith Biennais in 1817. The pieces are double gilded, so they look like they are made of solid gold. The geometric shapes and type of rims are typical of the early Empire style.

  • Artwork typedish, dekschaal
  • Object numberBK-17024-A
  • Dimensionsheight 26 cm x width 35.3 cm x depth 18 cm x weight 3000 g
  • Physical characteristicsverguld zilver, ebbenhout

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Tea tray, cake stands, jam dish, sugar bowls, coffee pot and milk jug

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-17024-A

  • Description

    Dekschaal met deksel van verguld zilver, op een ovale voet, staande op een achtzijdige basis. Aan beide uiteinden oren, die door gevleugelde vrouwelijke halffiguren worden gehouden. Met gekroond keizerlijk monogram.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • duty mark
    • monogram
    • mark
    • alloy mark
    • maker's mark
    • inscription: ‘Biennais Orfevre à Paris’

Creation

  • Creation

    • silversmith: Martin Guillaume Biennais, Paris
    • designer: Charles Percier, Paris
  • Dating

    c. 1817

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    verguld zilver, ebbenhout

  • Dimensions

    height 26 cm x width 35.3 cm x depth 18 cm x weight 3000 g


This work is about

  • Subject


Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    Commissioned by or for Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia (1796-1855);{Baarsen 2013, pp. 474-5, no. 117.}…; collection Nicholas II of Russia (1868-1918);{Baarsen 2013, pp. 474-5, no. 117.} transferred to the Russian imperial collections; ? purchased by Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939) Amsterdam and Paris from the Russian state;{Baarsen 2013, pp. 474-5, no. 117.} from whom, fl. 6,350,000, en bloc, to Artistic & General Securities Ltd. as security for a loan from the Mendelssohn & Co. Bank, but kept in usufruct, 1934;{NHA, 476, RMA Archive, inv. no. 2142, Recapitulatie der geïnventariseerde kunstvoorwerpen van wijlen Dr F. Mannheimer, undated, p. 50, no. Zil 80a/b, Artistic no. 45/1; NHA, 233, Arrondissementsrechtbank Amsterdam, inv. no. 1365, “O.R. 256/1939, Faillissementsdossier: nalatenschap Dr. F. Mannheimer, 28 augustus 1939”, image 3, page 2.} purchased from Mendelssohn & Co. Bank, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with 1,702 other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.


Documentation

  • Serge Grandjean, 'A dinner service by Biennais at the Rijksmuseum' The Connoisseur 142 (1958), 84-87.


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