Cup
Fedoskino Miniature Painting Factory, 1959
This exhibit is unique, first of all due to its shape. The technique of
making papier-mâché items shaped as cups is much more difficult than
making flat faced items.
The artist, P. S. Davidov, finely illustrated the common Soviet citizens’
labour. The happy faces of collective farm workers, bright, saturated colours
combined with traditional black background and golden ornaments present the
aesthetics of social realism, an omnipresent style of the Soviet era glorifying
the achievements of the socialist state.
This cup is an excellent example of the symbiosis between the traditional art
of Lukutin miniature painting and scenes from the “new era”, which were of
interest for the Soviet reality.
Сollection custodian:
“For more than 200 years, Fedoskino has been the centre of art production,
compliant with the contemporary realities of those times. This craft dates
Imperial Army. These were simple, non-artistic, lacquered items made of
for the Imperial Army. These were simple, non-artistic, lacquered items
papier-mâché. Following the war of 1812, Pyotr Korobov, the owner of this
industry, made a fortune from their production. Soon after, the entrepreneur
also started the production of snuffboxes – the habit of tobacco snuffing
was at its peak in those years. The tradition of decorative painting on
lacquered items started with these snuffboxes.”
reference
Most of the popular Soviet lacquered item production facilities grew
out of the icon painting workshops. The Fedoskino factory, which
had been producing high-quality lacquered goods, is the only exception.
The Fedoskino miniature art is often referred to as “Lukutin.” This
common name originates from the heydays of Fedoskino Lacquered Miniature
during the second half of the 19th century, when Aleksander Lukutin
owned the factory. It was during the time when the popular, traditional
Fedoskino Аscenes came into being: troika, tea party, dances, as well
as well as historic and fairy-tale miniatures.
By the mid 19th century, the exquisite caskets, jewellery boxes and
snuffboxes pushed the more expensive European and Asian goods out of
the Russian market and the factory became the official supplier to the
Imperial Court. Back then Aleksander Lukutin's father, Peter Peter Lukutin,
who owned the factory, was granted with the right to label hisproduction
with a two-headed eagle, the emblem of the Russian Empire.