The Role of the Documents and Published Sources in Assessment and Attribution: The Case Study of the Malachite History
Abstract
The newly developed high-tech methods of attribution and assessment have sometimes been viewed as replacements for more traditional approaches. This article uses three case studies to examine the role of documents and published resources as the important sources of information for the attribution of malachite pieces commissioned to the European artists by Nikolay Demidov. The first case highlights the role of archival documents in the identification of the elements and complete reconstruction of an important table centrepiece. The second example uses the materials published by the media of different countries made accessible by the digitalization process, and the placement of this digital copy in the open databases. With the support from the three articles published in the English, French and Vatican journals, it was possible to identify author, date of creation and the relation to the client for one pair of columns, which are the first example of the architectural use of malachite. The third case shows the role of iconographic sources – original pieces and printed graphics – in the attribution of the pieces from the presumably lost collection of Russian malachite created for the First World’s Exhibition in London in 1851. In conclusion, the author discusses the importance of the traditional methods of assessment and attribution based on the documents and printed sources.
Keywords: malachite, stonecutting art, Demidov family, Thomire, Sibilio, private malachite manufacture of Demidov, The World Exhibition in London (1851)
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