A gilt-bronze mounted malachite perpetual calendar


Probably Peterhof Imperial Lapidary Works with mounts by Nichols and Plinke, circa 1855of architectural form, the stepped pedestal base rising to shaped rectangular case mounted with hinged dome opening to reveal compartment for cards printed with year date and barrelled mechanisms governing Julian and Gregorian calendar dates flanking days of the week expressed in French; with winding key housed inside lid and additional date cards 13 x 26 x 35cm (5 1/8 x 10 1/4 x 13 3/4in).
|Research into a comparable calendar of lapis carved by the Peterhof Imperial Lapidary Works and preserved at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg suggests an earlier date than that of the 1866 date card illustrated. In 1854, two identical pairs of calendars on copper bases were produced. The earlier pair was presented to the Empress for Christmas and the other for Easter 1855. The bronze calendars were ordered from Nicholas and Plinke at a total cost for the lapis and mounts of 1953 silver rubles for each pair. Records show that in 1855, a further example in malachite was completed with gilt bronze mounts from Nichols and Plinke at a cost of 475 rubles but its location was not further documented. (N. Mavrodina, The Art of Russian Carvers 18th-19th Centuries, St. Petersburg, 2007, pp. 144-145). It has been suggested that the malachite of the proposed lot is characteristic of the Mednorudyansky deposit near Nizhny Tagil, originally mined by the legendary Demidoffs and consistent with the quality seen in pieces attributed to the Imperial Lapidary and enriched with Nichols and Plinke mounts. The Gregorian calendar, also referred to as 'nouveau style' (N.S.) was adopted in 1918 when it ran twelve days behind Julian or 'vieux style' (V.S.) dates used internationally. An instrument able to convert between the two methods, using the winding key on a weekly basis, would have delighted as a novelty and when elevated to bronze, malachite and French labels, an item of luxury.