DALLAS, TX.- On December 16, with its second major auction in the category this year, Heritage Auctions has proved itself an international leader in Russian decorative arts with its stunning Imperial Fabergé and Russian Works of Art Signature® Auction, which over one breathtaking day and two sessions broke auction records and realized a staggering $10,004,000. With this news, Heritage has shifted the market’s focus from Europe back to the United States. Bidding ran white-hot — in fact, momentum built in such a breathtaking manner that the auction broke $5 million before it was even 30 percent through its first session — with nearly 600 bidders competing for just under 300 historically significant lots that showcased Russia’s exquisite decorative arts legacy from before the Revolution. An impressive number of works sold for many times their high estimates, with thirty lots reaching six figures, as Heritage’s diligence, scholarship, and connection with this category, under the leadership of Nick Nicholson, has electrified the market. The event also broke the record for a Decorative Arts auction at Heritage.

“We are thrilled with the results. It is really a testament to the quality of the objects, and the taste and eye of the collectors,” says Nicholson, Heritage’s Director of Russian Works of Art. “It was an honor to work with them, and Heritage was able to present these works with new research to a new audience. The result is the first $10 million sale in Russian works of Art in many years. It firmly shows that a strong market for Russian Works of Art has returned to the United States.”

Including nearly 100 works by Fabergé and more than 75 by enameler Feodor Rückert, it was the most important sale of Russian Enamels to come to market in almost three decades. The auction was shaped by several historic consignments, including Masterpieces in Russian Enamel from an Important American Private Collection and Property from the Kathleen Durdin Collection of Russian Decorative Arts.

This was the second auction Heritage has hosted in the category, with the first, held in May, realizing $5.69 million. The importance of these works is, given yesterday’s eye-watering totals, undeniable as five- and six-figure results were common. The Masterpieces of Russian Enamel from an American Collection was “white glove” with all lots sold, topped by a Russian En Plein and Cloisonné Enameled Gem-Set Gilt Silver Casket, after Ilya Repin's Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, dated 1908-1917, hammering at $625,000 and setting a record for the Khlebnikov firm at auction, surpassing the previous record by hundreds of thousands of dollars. This casket, a masterwork by Khlebnikov, centers an en plein enamel reduction of the first version Ilya Repin's famous work Reply of the Zaporizhian Cossacks painted between 1880 and 1891. Another starring casket in the auction from the same collection was a Feodor RückertRussian En Plein and Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Casket after Makovsky's Boyar Wedding, which realized $362,500.

From the same collection came other top sellers in the sale: A Five-Piece Russian Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Tea Set by Rückert for Kurlyukov, circa 1899-1908, saw $325,000, well above its high estimate and setting a record for Kurlyukov at auction; and aPan-Slavic Enameled Gilt Silver Casket, Larets, also attributed to Rückert, sold for $275,000. Also realizing $275,000 was a Fabergé masterwork attributed to Rückert, a Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Horse-Form Handled Kovsh, circa 1910; Heritage specialists rediscovered the work’s Indian Royal past during their research on the piece, adding to its allure. A Russian En Plein and Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Kovsh after Makovsky's Boyar Weddingbrought$262,500;and two significant lots that each brought $250,000 were an important Russian Shaded Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Imperial Presentation Coffee Service, Pavel Ovchinnikov, presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Ambassador Robert Sanderson McCormick circa 1905, and a pre-1899 Russian Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Pictorial Kovsh Pavel Ovchinnikovattributed to Rückert. A Russian Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Vodka Service, circa 1899-1908, sold for $237,500.Vashe zdoroviye!

Also from this leading American collection came three lots that each hammered at $200,000: An Exceptional Russian Shaded Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Tazza; A Russian Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Three-Handled Presentation Cup, Kriushonnitsa (both Rückert); and a Russian En Plein Enameled Silver Pictorial Kovsh from Kurlyukov.Rückert’s Fabergé Three-Piece Russian Pan-Slavic Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Tea Service, circa 1908-1917, has been long regarded as the epitome of Rückert's best work in the Pan-Slavic Style. It realized $175,000.

To give a sense of the richness, variety and charisma of the auction’s offerings, highlights also include an entire aviary of charming bird-form kovshi that reached well into six figures, including a Shaded Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Peacock-Form Kovsh ($162,500), a Shaded Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Swan-Form Kovsh ($143,750), an Enameled and Gem-Set Gilt Silver Cockerel-Form Kovsh ($112,500) and a Cloisonné Enameled Gem-Set Gilt Silver Bird-Form Kovsh (also $112,500). Which is not to sneeze at this stunning, swan-shaped Shaded Cloisonné Enameled Gilt Silver Bird-Form Kovsh which brought $81,250. The beauty of all of these works made for great auction viewing for collectors and design buffs alike.

Works from other collections took the spotlight as well, as with this delicate work from Fabergé’s Moscow branch: The Russian Art Nouveau Matte Enameled, Gold-Mounted, and Diamond-Set Rock Crystal Frame realized $75,000.

And from the Kathleen Durdin Collection of Russian Decorative Arts, a group of carefully selected works from the 18th and 19th centuries containing rare and unusual pieces from the Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory, came an auction highlight: A Thirteen-Piece Russian Porcelain Tea Set from the Hunting Service, sold for $10,000. It was created in the Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg during the Period of Alexander II, circa 1870. As Nicholson notes, “The ‘Hunting Service’ was ordered from Meissen for the Oranienbaum Hunting palace by Empress Catherine II and originally comprised over one thousand pieces. It was the second-largest table service produced by Meissen in the 18th century.” Durdin’s collection also offered a rare Faience Plate, after the Golden Plate of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich from the Yusupov Porcelain Factory, Arkhangelskoye, Moscow, circa 1825-1830, which also realized $10,000.

“There is a strong and passionate group of collectors in this category who respond to the quality and the history of these works of art,” says Nicholson. “Our previews in Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, and New York were full, and attracted notable collectors from around the world. We look forward to our next sale and continuing to bring collections like these to market in Dallas.”