Filigree beakers by Rudolf Wittkopf (1698) end up at the National Museum in Stockholm.
Thanks to a generous donor, the National Museum in Stockholm will receive Charles XII's diplomatic gifts to Peter the Great as a donation. The filigree beakers were auctioned at Bukowskis Important Spring Sale and sold for a final price of SEK 1,568,000.
Bukowskis are an important cultural carrier and it is an honor that Karl XII's diplomatic gifts pass through Bukowskis for the third time since the beginning of the 1930s. It is with the greatest joy that I have handled and worked with these fantastic and interesting beakers, not only for there high quality but also for there great historical importance, ”says Anna Wehtje, Specialist Silver & Objects of Vertu at Bukowskis.
The beakers were part of the very extensive Swedish silver gift that Charles XII gave to Peter the Great in 1699, with the hope of securing the Swedish border to the east. Silver objects with filigree decor were among Peter the Great's favorites, and according to the Russian records, these filigree beakers were valued higher than anything else in the gift. No less than sixteen filigree beakers, of various sizes, were included in the embassy gift from 1699. None of the larger cups remains in the Kremlin today.
Peter the Great almost immediately moved most of the objects in the Swedish gift to the Preobrazhenskoj Palace. In 1721, when celebrating the victory over the Swedes on Preobrazhenskoje, a fire arose which destroyed the entire palace and most probably the silver stored there.
It was during the early 1930s when Russia was in dire need of a western currency when Stalin desperately lifted the lid of the treasure hides in the Kremlin's treasury and Wittkopf's filigree beakers return to Stockholm and sold through Bukowskis Konsthandel. In November 1998, the beakers were once again up for sale at Bukowskis during the autumn auction. So now again, during our anniversary year, it is with great pleasure of seeing these remarkable filigree beakers at Bukowskis again - as far as we know, this couple was the only preserved still in private ownership.
The filigree beakers were part of Bukowskis spring auction Important Spring Sale with an estimate of 800,000 - 1,000,000 SEK. After bidding, the beakers were sold at a final price of SEK 1,568,000.
It is a great pleasure for everyone when such a deal is carried out. Bukowskis is very pleased to have been able to participate in this historically significant mediation, says Björn Extergren, Head of Consignment and Sales Department Fine Art at Bukowskis.
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