A magnificent Imperial Russian folio containing one hundred large tinted lithographic plates illustrating Byzantine-Russian ornamental motifs, issued under the direction of Viktor Boutovsky and preserved in its original velvet portfolio.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Viktor Ivanovich Boutovsky (c.1815–1879), Director of the Moscow Museum of Art and Industry.
Title: Histoire de l'Ornement Russe du Xe au XVIe Siècle d'après les Manuscrits. [Vol. 2, of 2].
Place of Publication: Paris.
Publisher: Veuve A. Morel & Cie.
Date / Edition: 1873. Volume II only (of two volumes).
Contents: One hundred tinted lithographic plates, loose as published, and housed in the original green velvet-covered portfolio with gilt Imperial Russian eagle.
Illustrations: 100 large tinted lithographs engraved principally by A. Lefèvre and others, printed by Lemercier after ornamental motifs derived from Byzantine-Russian illuminated manuscripts dating from the tenth to the sixteenth centuries.
Binding: Original green velvet-covered portfolio with gilt Imperial Russian eagle on the upper cover.
Provenance: Bookseller's label of Barasch, Moscow, on the inside front cover.
Size: Folio (46.5 × 34 cm).

Condition

Very Good to Good overall. The original green velvet portfolio displays mainly light wear, with more noticeable rubbing to the spine, slight fraying at the head and foot, and a couple of short splits at the upper joints. The gilt Imperial Russian eagle remains attractive.

Each plate bears a contemporary manuscript number in black ink at the upper right corner. The lithographs are generally bright and clean with occasional light handling marks. Three plates exhibit age-toning to the verso and edge wear, while a small number have minor corner chips. Overall, the plates remain remarkably well preserved for such a substantial working portfolio. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or examine the gallery photographs closely.

Description

A rare and imposing Imperial Russian portfolio comprising one hundred large tinted lithographic plates illustrating ornamental motifs derived from Byzantine-Russian illuminated manuscripts dating between the tenth and sixteenth centuries. Issued under the supervision of the distinguished Russian art historian Viktor Ivanovich Boutovsky, this monumental publication ranks among the most ambitious studies of medieval Russian ornament produced during the nineteenth century.

Boutovsky, Director of the Moscow Museum of Art and Industry and also associated with the celebrated Stroganoff School, was one of the principal figures behind the revival of traditional Russian decorative design during the late Imperial period. His work sought to document the rich artistic vocabulary of medieval Russia and to make these historic forms available to architects, designers, craftsmen and students.

This is Volume II only of the complete work published in Paris between 1870 and 1873. Whereas the first volume reproduced the original manuscript decorations in elaborate chromolithography, the present second volume presents the same ornamental vocabulary in a simplified analytical format. The elegant tinted lithographs isolate decorative elements from the original manuscripts, allowing individual motifs to be studied, compared and adapted for contemporary artistic practice.

The plates reproduce an extraordinary variety of medieval decorative forms, including illuminated initials, borders, interlace, foliate ornament, crosses, geometric motifs, ecclesiastical decoration and Byzantine-inspired decorative patterns. Together they provide one of the finest nineteenth-century visual surveys of early Russian ornamental design and remain an important reference source for the history of medieval manuscript illumination.

Production of the portfolio reflects an international collaboration between Russian scholarship and the finest Parisian printers. The plates were engraved principally by A. Lefèvre and others, printed by the renowned firm of Lemercier, and published by Veuve A. Morel & Cie., one of the leading publishers of architectural and decorative art books during the nineteenth century.

The magnificent original green velvet-covered portfolio, stamped in gilt with the Imperial Russian eagle, transforms the work into an impressive presentation volume in its own right. Such portfolios were easily damaged through repeated use, making surviving examples retaining both the original case and the complete complement of plates increasingly difficult to obtain.

Although issued without accompanying explanatory text in this volume, the publication functioned as an advanced design resource for artists, architects and historians seeking to understand the evolution of Russian ornamental traditions from their Byzantine origins through the medieval period. It remains one of the landmark publications documenting the visual heritage of pre-Petrine Russia.

Notes

A magnificent Imperial Russian decorative arts portfolio preserving one hundred original lithographic plates after Byzantine-Russian manuscript ornament, complete in its original gilt velvet portfolio.

Particularly desirable for collectors of Russian art, Byzantine manuscripts, medieval illumination, decorative arts, ornament, architecture, lithography, design history and Imperial Russian publishing.