A silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel peacock-form kovsh, Ovchinnikov, Moscow, dated 1915

elaborately enamelled with shaded polychrome feathers and foliage on raised surfaces, the prow with pierced crest, the underside and base engraved in Russian 'To the greatly esteemed F. M. Mironov from D.S, I.S, P.R, I.L' and dated ' XX 10.II.1895-1915', 84 standard

Presented to Filipp Kuzmich Mironov in 1915

Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, 14 December 1981, lot 240

Sotheby's New York, 22 October 2002, lot 313

Illustrated, G. Hill, Fabergé and the Russian Master Goldsmiths, 1989, pl. 224

Excellent un-restored condition. An area of loss to the enamel around the figure's left ear. Three of four small and shallow chips to the enamel on the neck. The gilding in good order and the piece of good weight.
"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."

Filipp Kuzmich Mironov (1872-1921) was a Bolshevik leader and Red Army commander.  Born in the village of Ust-Medveditskaya, he attended the Novocherkassk Cossack Cadet School from 1895 to 1898.  Military service for Cossacks lasted twenty years; thus the present lot was presented to him in 1915 on the twentieth anniversary of his start at the cadet school.

Mironov fought with distinction in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and First World War.  Following the Revolution, he supported the idea of democracy in the form of the Soviet Republic, was an active opponent of the policy of the Red Terror, and clashed with Leon Trotsky.  He was sentenced to death in 1919 for disobeying military orders, but grudgingly pardoned by Trotsky for his past accomplishments.  In a letter to Lenin, Mironov wrote on 31 July 1919: “In the practice of the present struggle, we have the opportunity to see and observe the confirmation of an insane theory: ‘For Marxism the present is merely the means, and only the future can be the goal.’  If this be so, then I refuse to participate in such an endeavour, when all the people and everything they have earnt are regarded as a means for the purposes of a future both distant and abstract.  Is modern humanity not a goal, not a people, does it not want to live, is it devoid of its senses, that with its suffering we wish to pay for the happiness of some distant humanity?  No, it is time to stop the experiment!”

The following year, for personal bravery in battle and good governance of troops, Mironov was awarded the highest military medal, the Order of the Red Banner, as well as an honorary revolutionary weapon, a sword with a gilded hilt.  In 1921, however, his fortunes changed yet again.  He was arrested for his alleged involvement in a counterrevolutionary conspiracy and executed on 2 April.  Researchers R. A. Medvedev and S. P. Starikov assert that Trotsky himself gave the order to execute Mironov, citing anti-Cossack sentiment as well as personal rivalry.  Trotsky said of him, “Why did Mironov temporarily join the revolution?  Now it is quite clear: personal ambition, careerism, the desire to climb up atop the backs of the labouring masses.”

Mironov’s life is the subject of Anatoli Znamenski’s popular novel Red Days and inspired the 1990 Igor’ Tal’kov song 'The Ex-Staff Captain', as well as the character Migulin in Yuri Trifonov’s novel The Old Man.  In 1960, Mironov was posthumously “rehabilitated” by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court for lack of evidence regarding his crimes.