A Large Russian Gilded Silver and Shaded Enamel Trunk-Form Box, The Eleventh Artel, Moscow, circa 1910

A Large Russian Gilded Silver and Shaded Enamel Trunk-Form Box, The Eleventh Artel, Moscow, circa 1910

the top and sides of the unusually large trunk-form box enameled with colorful Usolsk-style blooms within scrolling foliage in forest green and brick red, the borders decorated with geometric ornament in opaque and transparent blues, greens, and oranges highlighted with applied beaded ornament and fine cables, the panels separated by larger applied cables, all against a stippled ground, the handles and clasp similarly stylized and enameled, raised on four bracketed feet, the interior gilded and the interior lid counterenameled in translucent strawberry red over a guilloché ground with a pattern of a sunburst inside a triangle set against a repeating wave. length 26.4 cm. Est. 60,000—80,000 USD

NOTE: The decoration of this box represents a rarely-seen innovation in which areas of transparent enamels are backed with foils, lending certain areas of the geometric decoration the brilliance of jewels. The orange seed forms surrounding the central bloom on the top of the box, the geometric green and orange decoration set in the four corners of the top panel, and the simplified green flowerheads on the sides all utilize this decorative technique.

Sotheby's. Russian Art. 22 Apr 09. New York www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's