THE BOTTLE WITH SCENES FROM THE STORY OF JOSEPH THE BEAUTIFUL
Russia
XVIII Century
Inscription: "This bottle belongs to Kolomna merchant Vasily Klimentov the son of Bocharnikov»
Green glass; free-blown technique, painted with enamels
Height: 50 cm
Receipt: as part of collection Peter I.Shchukin
Showcase 3
A huge bucket bottle could be attributed to the unique works of so-called "folk glass" of the XVIII Century. The products of peasant craftspeople made for townspeople featured traditional forms, as well as a kind of primitive art manner of painting often depicting the biblical stories.
The 14 pictures placed on a bottle present the well-known story of Joseph the Beautiful - the son of the biblical forefather Jacob, the character of the Pentateuch. His own brothers sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt, where the young man became famous as a great teller of dreams, which earned the patronage of the Pharaoh. When he became a co-ruler of Egypt, he resettled the Jews there.
More information...Painting is distinguished by refined and precisely detailed implementation and great compositional skill. On the surface of the bottle are depicted 54 figures of people and animals. The artist placed all the characters in such a way that the action develops in a downward spiral. Each tier of images is like a scene of one action. Each image is subtitled with an explanatory note, which in the general artistic structure of the object also plays the role of an ornament.
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