A rare and important nineteenth century Russian gilt bronze and mosaic malachite guéridon, the circular mosaic malachite top on a metal ground upon a gilt bronze pedestal base with a vase-shaped top and a rosette and foliate frieze, mounted below with three male mask heads with scrolled beards above scrolled and acanthus leaf wrapped tripartite legs divided by foliate and anthemion aprons, supported upon three monopodia lion paw feet raised on circular pads Russia, date circa 1840 Height 79 cm, diameter of the malachite top 89 cm. Literature: Antoine Chenevière, “Splendours of Russian Furniture 1780-1840”, 1989, p. 281, pl. 306, illustrating this work. During the eighteenth century Saint Petersburg was transformed into a capital of Imperial magnificence. This was largely due to the artistic interest and diplomatic influence of Catherine the Great, whose reign ensured that Neo-Classicism became the official Russian style. Its development was strongly influenced by European arts, particularly Parisian fashions, which alongside those from England, Germany and Italy were assimilated to create an individual type of Neo-Classical style. Characterised by its richness, opulence and brilliant colours, this bold Russian style persisted well into the nineteenth century as exemplified by the present guéridon. Typifying the quality and grandeur of Russian furniture made during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I, the intricate gilt bronze base reflects an understanding of European styles, particularly those of Paris, while the magnificent mosaic malachite top exemplifies the quality achieved by Russian craftsmen during the 1840s. Malachite was one of the favourite stones that reflected the splendour of Russian art and helped distinguish it from its European neighbours. In some instances whole rooms were dedicated to this brilliantly coloured stone, notably the Malachite Room in the Winter Palace which was designed by Alexander Briullov, 1839 and served as the state drawing-room of Empress Alexandra Fiodorovna, wife of Nicholas I. Russia’s passion for stone cutting and particularly the art of mosaic malachite began in the eighteenth century but reached its zenith during the 1840s and 1850s, when the present guéridon was created. By that period the technical expertise needed to create mosaic malachite was fully developed; the skilled craft was carried out by a vast number of experienced artisans, often members from the same families who had passed on their skills and traditions in working hard materials from generation to generation. Infinites skill was necessary to create works of art from malachite since it was relatively fragile and difficult to work. The technique of creating mosaic malachite involved the stone being sawn into very thin slices which were then applied to a stone or metal ground with the veins being laid to form an array of dazzling patterns. The whole piece was then highly polished so that the joints became barely visible, as seen in the present piece. Russia had three main centres that transformed malachite, jasper, porphyries and other decorative hard stones into urns, vases, pedestals, candelabra, table tops and other luxury objets d’art. The oldest was the Peterhof Lapidary Works, founded in 1721, along the shores of the Gulf of Finland. Although it was only a few miles from Saint Petersburg and thus perfectly situated to cater for the insatiable demand for malachite and other stone artefacts to grace the Imperial residences, the works were a long distance from any mines or quarries. Thus a few years later a second Imperial lapidary works was opened at Yekaterinburg, in the heart of the Urals where rich deposits of malachite and other hard stones were quarried. This was followed in 1786 by the establishment of the Kolyvan Lapidary Works in western Siberia, which specialised in colossal pieces made from the stones extracted from the Altari Mountains. The brilliant verdant green malachite mosaics were then perfectly offset by sumptuous gilt bronze mounts. The present work can be compared to a number of equally sumptuous mosaic malachite and gilt bronze consoles made at the Peterhof Lapidary Works, housed at the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg. As here they incorporated Parisian designs into a distinctly Russian style. Two of the most esteemed Paris bronziers Claude Galle (1759-1815) and Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) exerted a strong influence upon Russian design during the early years of the nineteenth century. Here one can see the prevailing influence of Thomire, who during the Empire period created a number of bases for candelabras and other luxury pieces featuring similar cabriole tripartite legs divided by decorative aprons, upon lion paw feet. In contrast, the group of mask heads above owe less to the arts of the early nineteenth century and more to the Louis IV and Régence styles of the early 1700s. Together they are assimilated into a unique decorative whole that perfectly offsets the beautiful symmetry of the elaborate malachite top.