LANDMARK AUCTION OFFERS TREASURES FROM THE NEW YORK FIRM THAT HELPED SHAPE THE RUSSIAN ART MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES
By Christina Rees | December 2, 2025
On December 16, nearly three centuries of Russian artistry come together in an unprecedented collaboration between Heritage Auctions and one of the most respected names in Russian art. Imperial Porcelain & Russian Works of Art from the Collection of A La Vieille Russie unites Heritage with the venerable New York firm that introduced Fabergé to the United States and has guided the formation of many of the world’s most important private and public collections.
Spanning the 17th through early 20th centuries, the auction brings together masterpieces of porcelain, enamel, metalwork, and stone, alongside a portrait by Konstantin Makovsky with a rediscovered Imperial provenance. Each work illuminates the artistry, ceremony, and craftsmanship that flourished under Russia’s Imperial patronage.
A Russian Reticulated Porcelain Leaf Dish from the Order of St. George Service,
Gardner Porcelain Factory, Verbilki, Period of Catherine II (1746-1798), circa 1790.
2-5/8 x 10 x 10-1/8 inches (6.7 x 25.4 x 25.7 cm).
From early 18th-century silver kovshi to Symbolist ceramics of the early 20th century, the collection of A La Vieille Russie stands as a testament to nearly a century of scholarship, connoisseurship, and innovation. As both dealer and custodian, ALVR has shaped the world’s understanding of Russian art and material culture, and continues, from its Fifth Avenue gallery, to offer exceptional European and American jewelry from the 18th century through the 1970s, precious snuff boxes, and important Fabergé.
“A La Vieille Russie has defined and developed the market for Russian art in the U.S. since the early 20th century,” says Nick Nicholson, Heritage’s Director of Russian Works of Art. “To present highlights from its collection, works that have informed scholarship and taste for generations, is an extraordinary privilege.”
A Russian Porcelain Military Plate: A Mounted Cuirassier of the Life-Guards Podolsk Regiment,
Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, Period of Nicholas I (1825-1855), 1828.
9-1/2 inches (24.1 cm).
Military Splendor: The Imperial Porcelain Military Plates
Among the auction’s highlights are the Imperial Porcelain Military Plates executed at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg between 1816 and 1891. Each is a triumph of technical and historical precision, vividly capturing the regiments and pageantry of the Imperial Russian Army. From Jacques François Joseph Swebach’s 1816 depiction of the Cossacks of the Black Sea to plates honoring the Life-Guards Podolsk Cuirassier Regiment, these works epitomize the symbiosis of art and statecraft under Nicholas I.
“Each plate was created to depict a specific regiment executing peacetime activities, creating a unique historical document of the entire Imperial army,” Nicholson says. “It is history captured in porcelain.”
Six Russian Porcelain Dinner Articles from the Order of St. Vladimir Service,
Gardner Porcelain Factory, Verbilki, Period of Catherine II (1746-1798), circa 1785.
1-7/8 x 8-3/4 inches (4.8 x 22.2 cm) (each, soup bowls);
9 inches (22.9 cm) (each, dinner plates).
The Order Services: St. Andrew, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Vladimir, and St. George
Equally resplendent are selections from the legendary Order Services produced by the Gardner Factory during the reign of Catherine the Great. The Order of St. George and Order of St. Vladimir Services gleam with black, red, and gold sashes encircling jeweled insignia, while the St. Andrew and St. Alexander Nevsky Services feature reticulated baskets and leaf-shaped dishes painted with emblems of Russia’s highest honors.
Once reserved for Imperial banquets, these neoclassical masterpieces are today among the most coveted survivals of Russian porcelain design – symbols of valor, faith, and the grandeur of state ceremony.
A Russian Faience Platter: ‘Sadko’ with Decoration After Mikhail Vrubel,
Marked Kuznetsov Factory with Imperial Warrant in gold, Moscow, circa 1905.
24 x 29 x 4 inches (61.0 x 73.7 x 10.2 cm).
Symbolist Brilliance: The “Sadko” Faience Platter After Designs by Mikhail Vrubel
A triumph of Russian Art Nouveau, the monumental “Sadko” Faience Platter bridges myth and modernity. Produced around 1905 at the Kuznetsov Factory after a design by Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), the platter depicts the legendary musician Sadko in his encounter with the daughter of the Sea King. Its dazzling glazes embody the Symbolist vision of merging art, industry, and folklore into a single transcendent aesthetic.
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky (Russian/French, 1839-1915), ‘HIH Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia,’ circa 1900. Oil on panel. 24 x 19-5/8 inches (61.0 x 49.8 cm).
The Rediscovered History of a Makovsky Portrait: Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia
Commanding the auction’s fine art section is Konstantin Makovsky’s portrait of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, a masterpiece from 1900 painted in Paris for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder. Once displayed in the Vladimir Palace, the portrait was sold abroad after the Revolution and its Imperial past forgotten; its reemergence now reconnects it to the lineage of Imperial portraiture.
Makovsky’s depiction of the young Grand Duke in naval uniform, rendered in the artist’s trademark luminosity, captures both dynastic confidence and the poignancy of Russia’s final Imperial decades.
A Russian Gilt-Bronze Mounted Rhodonite and Nephrite Athénienne or Brûle-Parfum,
Imperial Lapidary Factory, after a design by I.I. Galberg (1778-1863), circa 1840.
10-3/4 x 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches (27.3 x 14.0 x 14.0 cm).
Imperial Grandeur in Stone: A Rhodonite and Nephrite Athénienne
The Gilt-Bronze Mounted Rhodonite and Nephrite Athénienne, attributed to the Imperial Lapidary Factory after a design by I.I. Galberg circa 1840, bridges sculpture and design with consummate refinement. Comparable to examples in the Hermitage and the Metropolitan Museum, this exquisite object reflects Russia’s fascination with classical form executed in native hardstones.
“This auction isn’t just a sale,” Nicholson says. “It’s the story of how Russian art was discovered, preserved, and presented in the West, and how A La Vieille Russie formed the taste of some of the greatest collectors of the 20th century while maintaining the highest standards of quality through exhibitions, publications, and the assemblage of the works we will offer on December 16.”
