Pair of fountains. “Tula” Imperial Service commissioned by Catherine II of Russia. GEORGE HEMING & WILLIAM CHAWNER. London, 1776.

GEORGE HEMING & WILLIAM CHAWNER
Pair of oval George III-era bowls, part of the “Tula” Imperial Service. London, 1776.
Sterling silver.
Hallmarked.
Engraved with the Russian imperial coat of arms.
Provenance: -“Tula” Imperial Service, commissioned by Catherine II of Russia (1776). -Auctioned by Sotheby’s Paris: “Important European Silver, Gold Boxes, and Vertu.” November 25, 2010, lot 189 -Molly de Balkany Collection.
Measurements: 38 x 28 cm each.

A pair of oval dishes with a contoured profile formed by six indentations and topped by a braided border. The design concentrates the ornamentation on the perimeter molding and on the crowned double-headed eagle of the Romanovs, engraved on the wing of each piece. The expanse of the smooth surfaces and the balanced proportion between the base and the rim reflect the refinement of English silverwork from the George III period.

The platters belonged to the “Tula” Imperial Service, commissioned in London by Empress Catherine II of Russia. During the territorial reorganization of the Empire, the sovereign ordered sumptuous silver services intended for the governors of the new provinces. The Tula service was commissioned in May 1776, acquired in 1777, and assigned to the governor’s palace as a symbol of the dignity and authority of the imperial administration.

George Heming and William Chawner participated in the creation of the service’s bowls and trays, while other prominent London silversmiths crafted its remaining components. Following the death of Catherine II, Paul I ordered the return of these services to St. Petersburg in 1797 for use in the imperial residences. The subsequent dispersal of much of the set lends special significance to the surviving pieces; at the beginning of the 20th century, numerous platters were still listed in the inventory, although today only a small portion of the service remains in the Hermitage Museum.

In addition to its exceptional imperial origin, the set comes from the collection of Molly de Balkany, renowned for the quality of her European decorative arts. The combination of authorship, age, historical provenance, and its status as part of one of Catherine the Great’s major ceremonial services lends the set outstanding artistic and documentary value.