Swedish Lapidary Works in St Petersburg Museums: Attribution Problem

Abstract

This article focuses on the problem of lapidary works attribution, as it is a key issue connected with the study of decorative and applied art of the 18 th –20 th centuries. For many years, nearly all lapidary works in the collections of Russian museums were primarily associated with the handcraft of Russian stonecutters. This paper presents an attribution of two items from the Mining Museum collection. Over the years, these items were attributed to the Russian lapidary factories and were not considered Western European artworks. The author carries out a comparative analysis of the stone material which was used to produce lapidary works. The study examines items from the collections of the State Hermitage, the State Museum Pavlovsk, and the Mining Museum of the St Petersburg Mining University. Information on these items is supplemented by archival documents from the State Hermitage Department of Manuscripts and publications by Swedish researchers on the national lapidary manufactories. The study allows the author to attribute urns made of rhyolite porphyry and ophicalcite tazzas from the Mining Museum collection, to the works of the Swedish lapidary manufactories of the 19 th century. Thus, the article introduces two cultural heritage items, made by Swedish stone-cutters in the Royal Porphyry Manufactory of Älvdalen and in the Marble Manufactory of Kolmården. The author provides a detailed description of the development of lapidary production in Sweden between the 18 th and early 20 th centuries. The article also discusses important issues of the cross-cultural exchange between the two northern countries, expanding the borders of cultural cooperation. This study makes it possible to identify Swedish lapidary works in modern museum collections and enrich knowledge about the Western European industrial lapidary production.