Lot Details
Lot 131
Russian Silver, Glass and Marble Presentation Inkwell
Kiev Silver Artel, Kiev, 1908-1917
The square cut glass jar, surmounted by a cast and chased silver figure of Nestor the Chronicler, on a silver foot cast and chased with trees and mushrooms, all set on a rectangular green marble base with a silver dedication plaque engraved in Russian: To Alexei Efimovich Vandam in fond memory of joint combat service 1915-1915, further engraved with signatures and Galicia 32. Height overall 7 1/2 inches (19 cm.), width of base 9 1/2 inches (24 cm), depth 9 1/4 inches (23.5 cm).
Provenance:
Presented to Major-General Alexei Vandam (1867-1933) in 1915.
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, New York, June 9, 1997, lot 243.
Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, November 26, 2012, lot 285.
Alexei Efimovich Vandam (Edrikhin, 1867-1933) was a military officer, intelligence officer, geopolitical researcher, writer, publicist, and translator of foreign works in the field of philosophy and geopolitics. While still a military officer, he served as a war writer and journalist. He is considered one of the founders of modern Russian geopolitical thought.
Vandam graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1899 and served in the 117 Infantry Regiment and the Guard Grenadier Regiment. He was awarded the St. George sword in April 1915 for his services as an Adjutant-General. He commanded the 92nd Pechorsk Infantry Regiment from August 1915, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th Class in 1916, and he became a Major-General in 1917.
Saint Nestor the Chronicler (c. 1056-c. 1114) is the reputed author of the Russian Primary Chronicle, a history of the Kievan Rus'. A monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev, St. Nestor was buried in the Near Caves and was been glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.
C
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