A RARE SILVER-GILT ENAMEL BOWL

This rare bowl dates from the late 17th century which was the golden age of Solvychegodsk enamelling. A special feature of the local enamelling tradition was the white background. The contours and lines were applied in black, and the design was then painted in varicolour bright enamels. Drawings were usually based on the lubok prints. For comparable bowls from the Hermitage Museum, see N. V. Kalyazina, Russian Enamels of the XII-XX Centuries from the Collection of the State Hermitage, Leningrad, 1987, nos. 54-60.