антиквариат обучение образование стажировка атрибуция экспертиза

Ðóññêàÿ âåðñèÿ

  Column of director

The symbol is a logotype of the institute.   

One of my first childhood recollections is a sun-drenched dining-room in my grandmother’s flat, black piano with brassy candlesticks and a statuette of an old man in a carelessly shuffled toga, in a relaxed pose, and looking at the tense flame of fire at his feet. This figurine has always been dazzling: a proud Roman side-face, a look shining with tranquil contentment, outstanding veins on hands and wrists of his feet – all these consummately completed details, precisely transmitting the color and sense of a human skin, were fulfilled by virtue of tender porcelain velvetiness. Though it was small in size, it still produced an impression of a monumental work.
As we were kids of the post-war time we weren’t very good in antique mythology and even much less in allegories and symbols, which were flushing the world art. We could not have been called boors. But accurate division between “physicists” and “lyrists” reweighed on the side of “technicians”, as the most important citizens of the Soviet state. “Make away with petty bourgeoisie!”- in such way the commonwealth was struggling against everything, that was making household warm, hearty and individual. In the rage of battle all dear trifles were thrown into disposal dump. However then something subconsciously unknown made the masters return it and hide in secluded nooks. Luckily, the “granddad’s” (how it was called by our household) figurine was always carefully guarded: in our family this statuette was valued in a high way. But when I called in my grandmother I could only watch “granddad” – it was forbidden to take it.
The fate of the statuette’s appearance in the house is rather typical for a post-was period: “granddad” was bought on the occasion by the grandmother in a commission store. Already much later – at the 25-th birthday – I’ve received the most expensive present in my life – the beloved statuette.
Since then “granddad” has become my amulet: in hard and major moments of my life I only had to sit a little beside the figurine, and fell heart-easing, saw rational settlements of problems and felt power to move forward. That’s why when a question about the institute symbol had arisen, I chose a “granddad” without any doubts. Allegory of Winter – is the correct name of the figurine – and it corresponds to the ideas which my colleagues and I are trying to embody in process of our work, in the best way. But this is a fact that both winter and bric-a-brac don’t mean fading and age. Bric-a-brac is an embodied cultural layer, wisdom and knowledge, left by our ancestors. That’s why the bright, life-giving fire, in front of which out “hoary old man” is getting a warm, may be compared with a cresset of knowledge. But the main reason of my the choice was that since early childhood this figurine was gradually but insistently leading me to the occupation, I has always been dreaming about, but had no opportunity to do due to many reasons and circumstances – and exactly to the fascinating, wonderful world of gathering and collecting. And this is where I’m inviting you, my future colleagues.
 

«Nothing settles nerves better,
than porcelain of unascertained origin» 
J. Galsworthy  
«The Forsyte Saga»

The choice of a “granddad” as my institute’s symbol was not accidental. Apart from the fact that the statuette is full of beauty, it also had lead me to collecting, which doesn’t only mean an interest in process of gathering, but also a desire to find out everything about the beloved subject – beginning from the time of its fabrication to the country and factory – manufacturer.

So, approximately in 1980 – s I decided to finally find out the history of my amulet: when, where and by whom it had been shaped. I had to start from something but the indented letters: “Kiev” and some numerals in it didn’t give me any information. It was really vexing that such beautiful statuette was not shaped in capitals, but in Kiev.
Trying to find information about the statuette, I shifted from authors to stigmas, and also to everything connected with ceramics in general. That was the beginning of the new stage in my life.
I must say that in that days there weren’t a lot of books about porcelain in this country: the main sources of ornamental-applied art and porcelain were libraries and old book stores.
From now on I was primarily interested the museums with collections of porcelain, where I was hoping to find the twin of my “granddad”. Luckily, my searches had been rewarded: at the beginning of 90-s in one of the chambers of Petergof porcelain exhibition (brought from Leningrad’s museums), I saw a twin of my domestic halidom. Finally I found out everything about my amulet: where it had been shaped, when and according to which model. My joy was out of borders. Though the name of the factory – “Kievo-Mezhigorskaya” – told me nothing at that time, but the information that it had been shaped according to the model of Rashette, who was working in the Imperial porcelain factory in XVIII century, confirmed my conviction in the figurine’s high artistic value. The next stage was the searches for information about that Kievo-Mezhigorskaya factory, its history, nomenclature of its products and a lot of other appearing questions, which may be listed for a long time.
One can write endlessly about a work of a collector. Every admirer, expert, collector, performing his own researches knows that fantastic feeling of satisfaction and admiration, which appear when he finally gets down to bed-rock. And if it coincides with hopes, laid on the figurine, which was keeping him on the alert and making him search tensely, compare, check back the received information, in order to come to one conclusion – than that truth is really priceless!
The gained experience is eager to be shared. And it’s even better when literate specialists – professionals and patriots of their occupation – are ready to share their knowledge and skills with people, who haven’t yet understood their mission. To share knowledge, infatuate, and take them to the fascinating and splendid world of bric-a-brac, where every object, after passing the test of time, combines past, present and future – these are the main goals of our institute, which collected in its walls the best specialists and experts in the areas of history, attribution and expertise of works of art, collecting and bric-a-brac.