Live Auction 17188Important Russian Art
TWO RARE BRONZE MODELS OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE AND HIS BOYAR
Lot 302 PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN COLLECTION

TWO RARE BRONZE MODELS OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE AND HIS BOYAR

CAST BY WOERFFEL, AFTER THE MODEL BY VASILII GRACHEV, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Closed25 November 2019

Price Realised

GBP 17,500

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TWO RARE BRONZE MODELS OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE AND HIS BOYAR
CAST BY WOERFFEL, AFTER THE MODEL BY VASILII GRACHEV, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Each on a naturalistic oval base, realistically cast as Ivan the Terrible on horseback, and his boyar, both dressed in traditional Russian costumes, signed on bases in Cyrillic 'Mod.[elled] [by] Grachev', also with foundry marks 'Fabr. C.F. Woerffel'; on detachable marble bases
11 ½ in. (29 cm.) wide

Nina Zouboff (1929-2018).

Specialist note


These rare models of Ivan the Terrible and his boyar were part of the series called The Tsar's Hunt. They are based on a scene from Alexey Tolstoy's novel The Silver Prince, where Ivan the Terrible is being informed by his falconer that his hawk has flown away during the hunt. Grachev also produced a large bronze group on the same subject, which incorporates both models. A comparable model of a Boyar of Ivan the Terrible was sold at Sotheby's, London, 8 June 2011, lot 625.