Russian Fairy Tales
by Heinrich Porzellan "Villeroy and Boch".
Boris Zworykin is celebrated as one
of the most important of Russia's old-school ornamental illustrators. The
Russian Fairy Tales decorative plate collection, a series cycle
produced from 1980-1983, is a wonderful tribute to his
marvelous artistic gifts.
The edition was begun in 1980 with
three scenes from the tale "The Snow Maiden". Subsequent annually-issued editions of three plates
followed, based on "The Firebird" and "Vasilissa the Fair". The series
closed in 1983 with "Maria Morevna".
The original illustrations,
which are housed in the Metropolitan Museum at New York,
were created 100 years ago, following Zworykin's emigration to Paris
after the Russian Revolution.
Zworykin's artistic methods included
the use of Gouache, a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in
water, that intensifies brilliance of colors. Production methods for
hard-paste porcelain plates, to be faithful to the original pastel colors,
use a high carat gold, making
it possible, for example, to emphasize red and lilac shades from the
original art. After firing is completed, the colors show a brilliance not often found
on porcelain. The reason for this is that only one of each of the 28
different ceramic colors is applied before firing - a procedure that
requires time, care, and precision. All plates made in (at the time) Western
Germany. Each is 8 1/4" diameter and issued with a special certificate
and styrofoam box for storage.
These original plates have been out
of production for years. Due to their collectibility, at any given time
our stock is limited. Click on a picture below for a close-up view and to get more information on each plate.
To order, please refer to the
title of each plate.
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Click on picture for more info.
THE FIREBIRD.
"In Search of the Firebird."
Plate #7. Issued 1982.
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Click on picture for more info.
THE FIREBIRD.
"Ivan on the Gray Wolf."
Plate #8. Issued 1982.
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Click on picture for more info.
THE FIREBIRD.
"The Wedding of Tsarevna Elena the Fair."
Plate #9. Issued 1982.
SOLD! |
Click on picture for more info.
THE SNOWMAIDEN.
"Snegurochka."
Plate #1. Issued 1980.
SOLD!
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Click on picture for more info.
THE SNOWMAIDEN.
"Snowmaiden at the Court of Tsar Berendai."
Plate #2. Issued 1980.
SOLD!
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Click on picture for more info.
THE SNOWMAIDEN.
"Lel, the Shepherd Boy"."
Plate #3. Issued 1980.
SOLD!
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Click on picture for more info.
VASSILISSA THE FAIR.
"Red Knight."
Plate #4. Issued 1981.
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Click on picture for more info.
VASSILISSA THE FAIR.
"Vassilissa and Her Stepsisters."
Plate #5. Issued 1981.
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VASSILISSA THE FAIR.
"Vassilissa is Presented to the Tsar."
Plate #6. Issued 1981.
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Click on picture for more info.
MARIA MOREVNA.
"Maria Morevna."
Plate #10. Issued 1983.
SOLD!
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Click on picture for more info.
MARIA MOREVNA.
"Koschei the Immortal."
Plate #11. Issued 1983.
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MARIA MOREVNA.
"Enchanted Castle."
Plate #12. Issued 1983.
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Snow Maiden plate - 2nd edition
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