КОВШ для победителей офицерского пятиборья для Олимпийских игр в Стокгольме, 1912 г. - Работа фирмы Фаберже. Материал из книги Синтии Спарке, Лондон, БОНАМС.

The drawing has also been linked with another monumental kovsh depicting warriors clustered around a prominent rudder and is preserved in the Olympic Museum at Lausanne, Switzerland. (Fabergé Research Newsletter, Summer 2015) It shares the bogatyr theme, gilt interior, and cabochon-set stones of its companion but seems to challenge the idea that official gifts were simply pulled from palace storerooms where they were stored while awaiting “assignment”.

In anticipation of the 1912 Olympics, St. Petersburg jewelers were invited to compete for a trophy to be created in the form of a traditional Russian drinking vessel. Larissa Zavadskaya in her article, “Design Drawings of C. E. Bolin’s Items of Jewelry in The Hermitage” in Jewellery & Silver for Tsars, Queens and Others. W. A. Bolin 200 Years, 1996, 219-223, notes Bolin’s entry was turned down in favor of Fabergé’s which was approved for the Olympic kovsh. It appears various drawings preserved in the Hermitage Museum for kovshes and tankards decorated with epic heroes may relate to this competition.

It is certainly true the Imperial Cabinet purchased stock from Fabergé and other prominent makers in large quantities, particularly in preparation for extended official tours and lavish gifting abroad. However if, as has recently been stated in the Revyakin text (p.95), the Hermitage drawing now displayed in the General Staff Building was submitted for inspection to the office of His Imperial Majesty as the proposed Stockholm Olympic prize of 1912, then certain monumental kovshes were specially conceived for particular presentations.

The Olympic kovsh was reviewed once again to find links between the composition and the specific event for which it was created. The object features a prominent Bogatyr figure in chainmail, this time leaning forward against his shield as he surveys the horizon surrounded by his men. The sizeable handle enriched with scrolling motifs suggests swirling wind or surging seas surrounding a rudder. The totemic support for the principle figure is replaced by a clutch of oars and the prow features galloping horses. The iconography does not seem to relate to the events comprising the decathlon of various races, hurdles, jumping, shot put, javelin, discus and pole vaulting. None of these categories required the use of a boat or equestrian elements depicted in the prize’s sculptural relief.

Undeterred, a search began to see if the inventory number scratched into the kovsh could be traced and whether the Olympic museum in Lausanne could shed any further light on this piece. The kovsh presented to the winner of the 1912 Stockholm decathlon has a Moscow hallmark with the years 1908-1917. It is known the piece was in existence in time for the 1912 Olympics and the scratched inventory number 18831 cross references with Imperial Cabinet documentation from 1911. Dr. Valentin Skurlov, independent researcher, has generously shared information from archival documents which shed light on the timeline relating to the Olympic kovsh:

• On April 6, 1911, the General Staff Headquarters in St. Petersburg acknowledged correspondence from Count von Rosen (a prominent Swedish sportsman and campaigner for equestrian events), and the agreement of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to allow Russian officers to participate in the 1912 Olympic Games.

The agreement to permit officers to be seconded to the games would have been important for Russia as it, in effect, permitted some of the Empire’s most elite horsemen and highly trained athletes to participate. It is interesting to note that Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, grandson of Alexander II and cousin to Nicholas II, was a guard’s officer chosen to ride for Russia in the 1912 Olympics. Certainly there were other noblemen highly trained in various disciplines who could qualify as amateur sportsmen whilst benefitting from a lifetime of preparation for such a competition.

• On May 4,1911, the Russian office responsible for administering the Imperial Household (Ministry of the Imperial Household Office) reported Baron de Coubertin inquired, on behalf of the Prince of Sweden, as to His Imperial Majesty’s intentions to grant a challenge cup. The Ministry of the Imperial Court submitted the choice of award to Nicholas II for approval.
  
• On June 9^th, the Imperial Cabinet documented that it pleased the Emperor to choose a kovsh formed as a boat with the State coat of arms and warrior figures, stock number 533 for 2,500 rubles.

Recalling the Hermitage drawing originally marked for 2,200 rubles, the discrepancy with the figure noted by the Imperial Cabinet of 2,500 rubles throws further doubt on the drawing being the approved design for the Olympic kovsh. This does not preclude that the kovsh was a special commission, only at this time the object’s full background is not known. We may not understand the Fabergé process from conception to delivery of the Revyakin or Olympic kovshes, but recent publication and archival revelations certainly contribute to our understanding of the Fabergé era.

Cynthia Coleman Sparke
COLEMAN CONSULTING
Fabergé and Russian Decorative Arts
+44 7776 200 046