Russian Grand Duchess’s silver tea service sells for €321,440
A silver tea and coffee service believed to have been commissioned for Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia in 1840 has sold at auction for €321,440, more than four times its €80,000 upper estimate, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Crafted in St. Petersburg by silversmiths Carl Johann Tegelsten and Henrik August Lang for Nicholls & Plincke, a supplier to the Russian Imperial Court, the eight-piece set includes a samovar (hot-water dispenser), coffee pot, teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug, tea strainer, sugar tongs and an oval tray.
Made of silver with a fineness of 875 and fully gilded, the pieces feature elaborate Neoclassical decoration, including floral garlands and handles shaped as winged figures of Psyche (a princess in Greek mythology). The main pieces bear Olga’s intertwined Cyrillic initials beneath the imperial crown on one side and Russia’s double-headed eagle on the other.
According to auction house Aguttes, Tsar Nicholas I most likely commissioned the service as part of his daughter’s dowry. Olga married the future King Charles I of Württemberg in 1846. Her dowry comprised nearly 500 silver pieces.
The service is particularly rare because most of its pieces have remained together. Its design resembles a similar set made in 1839 for Olga’s elder sister, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. That service is now held at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
Despite some damage and missing parts, including broken sugar tongs, the service offers a glimpse into the craftsmanship of Russian imperial silverwork under Nicholas I.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a sapphire from Russia’s crown jewels had fetched about $4.955 million at an auction in Geneva.