Russian Platter
Moscow, silversmith Alexei Ratkov, 1780
Gilded, chased, nielloed, and engraved silver.
Russian jewelry-making developed along the same lines as that of Western Europe while retaining its distinctively national character. The sweeping economic, political, and cultural reforms introduced by Peter the Great at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries were of major significance for the development of all the arts.
Those objects made from approximately 1750 to 1775 were generally executed in the rococo style. However, by the 1770s, the new style of classicism was already making its presence felt. A vivid example of this is the gilded silver platter made by Moscow silversmith Alcxei Ratkov.
Though the platter is rococo in form, the ornament is clearly early classical in motif, as is the well-balanced composition of its parts. This remarkable platter was a gift to Catherine the Great from the residents of Smolensk.
Outstanding silversmith and jack-of-all-trades Alexei Ratkov worked from 1777 to 1821. His remarkable works are proudly displayed in the museums of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, and Kaluga.
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