Artworks of Russian Stone Carvers in the Diplomatic Service

Abstract

This review examines recently published works by Russian scholars in the field of artistic stone carving, namely, the reference book by N. M. Mavrodina, Works of Russian Stone-Carving Art in Collections outside Russia (2019), and the monograph by L. A. Budrina, Malachite Diplomacy (2020). Both works study objects created by Russian stone carving artists through the 18th – early twentieth century and which left the country as a result of various diplomatic occasions. The authors have adopted different research approaches. N. M. Mavrodina, preparing a catalogue of works exported from Russia, focuses mainly on the activities of Imperial stone-carving factories. The monograph by L. A. Budrina, on the other hand, focuses on the identification and study of carvings and their history; it also offers insights into the role of stone-carved objects in the formation of the image of the Russian state, and describes the main mechanisms that contributed to the formation of a fashion for Russian stone carving abroad. The two reviewed works offer a significant contribution to the historiography of stone carving art, as well as the role of works of art in creating the image of a country or region and their place in the formation of a single European art market.