Catherine The Great: An important set of four George III silver-gilt candlesticks, Thomas Heming, London, 1776

circular, cast and chased with acanthus leaves, laurel wreath and rosettes, detachable nozzles, each stamped with the number 3 and with pricked Cyrillic inventory number on the underside

Catherine the Great, purchased in 1777 and allocated to the Governor of Tula
Paul I, Mikhailovsky Palace, St. Petersburg.
By descent at the Winter Palace.
Sold under Soviet rule, probably early 1920s.
Christie's London, 20th December 1967, lot 180.
Acquired from Spink & Son Ltd., London, 21 October 1968.

Baron A. Foelkersam, Inventories of the Silver of the Court of His Imperial Highness, Volume II, St. Petersburg, 1907, p.252
British Art Treasures from Russian Imperial Collections in the Hermitage, Edited by Brian Allen and larissa Dukelskaya, Yale Centre for British Art, 1996, pp.131-32
E. Alfred Jones, The Old English Plate of the Emperor of Russia, London, 1909, pp. lvj & 92-92, pl. XLVI

Comparative literature:
Marina Lopato, 'English silver in St. Petersburg,' British art treasures from Russian imperial collections in the Hermitage, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1996, pp. 131-132

nozzles unmarked, full hallmarks on foot rim.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Under Catherine the Great, Russia was divided in the mid 1770s into 11 provinces, a number which was increased to 40 by 1796. Governors were appointed by the Empress to each of the provinces and each was allocated a silver table service befitting his viceregal dignity. In all, four, possibly five, of these services were ordered from London, beginning in 1774 with one for the Province of Tver, followed by another for Volynsk; these cost not less than 125,000 roubels apiece. The next, in May 1776, was for Tula, about 100 miles south of Moscow, whose governor at the time was General Mikhail Krechetnikov (1729-1793); while the fourth was for Yaroslav. These latter two, which appear to have cost up to twice as much as the first, arrived at St. Petersburg in May 1777, when customs payments for them were made amounting to 6,240 roubles.

Following Catherine’s death in November 1796, her son, Tsar Paul I, recalled all the governors’ silver services to St. Petersburg for his own use. Writing in 1909 in The Old English Plate of the Emperor of Russia (p. lvj), E. Alfred Jones noted that, ‘Of the Tula service there still remain [in St. Petersburg] thirty-eight fine tall candlesticks by Thomas Heming, 1776-77; a rare octofoil shape of salver, by John Carter; and eight charming little salvers with pierced borders by Robert Jones and John Schofield [sic], all of the same date, 1776-77. In addition to these there are eight oval and twenty-three round dishes of silver, date 1776-77 and 1777-78.’

After sales in the early Soviet era, the Hermitage now retains only two of the Heming candlesticks and five dishes. Of the remainder, two oval meat dishes and a pair of oval meat dishes, George Heming & William Chawner, 1776, were sold at Sotheby’s, New York, on 13 October 2007, lots 109 and 110; a single meat dish, Heming & Chawner, 1776, was sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, on 25 November 2010, lot 189; and fifteen second course dishes, Heming & Chawner, 1776, were sold at Sotheby’s, New York, on 30 March 2011, lot 571. In addition, eight candlesticks from the service, all Thomas Heming, 1776, were sold at Sotheby’s, London, on 11 November 1993, lot 451.

For a set of 16 candlesticks from this same service, see Sotheby's, Treasure - Princely Taste, London, 3 July 2013, lot 16.