Description
St. Petersburg: Tipografiia "Sirius", [Published date: 1913]. Translucent rice-paper like wrapper over blue-green paper covers, 119 pp; illustrated with heliogravure plates; 26 cm. Text in Russian, with French list of plates at the back. Catalog of 65 porcelain objects from the collection of Konstantin Andreevich Somov (1869-1939), painter, graphic artist, and founding member of the "Mir iskusstva" movement. Includes a French-language catalog of the collection at the back (pp. 109-120), providing brief descriptions of the illustrated pieces.
Condition & notes
In acceptable condition. Translucent outer wrapper of rice paper. Beneath is the original blue-green paper cover with printed title label, now quite worn and reinforced along edges and spine with old tape. Covers separating from text block but still attached. Text block itself remains solidly bound. Internally very good: pages clean, without writing, and all plates present. Includes laid-in 1962 sales card from the New York art book dealer E. Weyhe, Inc., addressed to a prior owner. Weyhe was among the leading American art book dealers of the mid-20th century, supplying major institutions and collectors. Context: Following the Imperial Porcelain Factory's decision to collaborate with members of the "Mir iskusstva" ("World of Art") movement after 1900, Konstantin A. Somov became one of the leading artists to work in porcelain. His interest stemmed from childhood exposure to the Hermitage's porcelain collection through his father, curator Andrei I. Somov, and was further shaped by travels to European auctions. The present catalog, issued in 1913, documents Somov's own collection of European and Asian porcelain figurines and remains an important record of his role as both artist and collector.
