Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Box with a Miniature: Warrior at the Crossroads
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The miniature on this box replicates a recurrent image in Russian enamels, Viktor Vasnetsov's popular painting, A Vitiaz (Knight) at the Crossroads or Warrior at the Crossroads (1882). In the twilight, a bogatyr mounted on a white horse gazes across a battlefield pondering which direction to take. He has been identified as the 12th-century Kievan Rus warrior, Il'ia Muromets, who is mentioned in the byliny, the Russian folk stories. A highlight of the Fabergé box is the exceptionally fine filigree enamel. On the front face appears a stylized griffin with a darting red tongue flanked by swans. Birds with long tails are depicted on the ends of the box. A distinctive feature is the manner in which the filigree and painted enamel designs invade the painted scene on the left side and along the bottom. These patterns are executed in a silver overlay rather than in wire filigree.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Jean M. Riddell, Washington, D.C. [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2017-2018 | Fabergé and the Russian Crafts Tradition: An Empire's Legacy . The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1993-1994 | Fabergé. The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris; Victoria and Albert Museum, London. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Silver tarnish was reduced in preparation for photography and exhibition | |
| Treatment | Cleaned |
Geographies
Russia, Moscow (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall H: 1 11/16 × W: 3 × H: 2 in. (4.3 × 7.6 × 5.1 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Jean M. Riddell, 2010
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.917