This complete tea and coffee set with a samovar and tray was crafted at Ignaty Sazikov’s factory in Moscow in 1848. It was presented to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich upon his marriage to Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg.
The set was created in the “original Russian style,” matching European shapes with Byzantine ornamentation and inscriptions in Slavic fonts. To aid him in making the set’s design, Ignaty Sazikov turned to Feodor Solntsev, an archaeologist and painter of Russian antiquity. It was thanks to the latter’s catalogue Antiquities of the Russian State (1849-1853) that interest in Byzantine art and that of ancient Rus grew in Russia. Solnstev made several thousand watercolor illustrations of architectural works, paintings, weapons, period dress and household and religious objects, among them ancient Russian silver items. This book paved the way for the “Russian style,” which consisted of a revival of pre-Petrine shapes and patterns and the use of ligature and national motifs.
The lids of the objects in the set are crowned with two-headed eagles holding naval maps in their beaks and talons. They symbolize seamanship, the life’s work of Konstantin Nikolaevich, who was named Rear Admiral after his wedding.