Washington Winter Show 2024

46 Russian culture and an appreciation for Russian artisans’ ability to transform hardstone into works of art, especially malachite. The malachite objects in Hillwood’s collection are representative of Russian mosaic, produced by cementing thin sheets of the opaque green stone to a slate or metal base to create a motif. Russians began mining malachite in the Ural Mountains in the 1800s, and the intensity of the stone’s color and the beauty of its patterns, often accentuated by gilt bronze mounts, eventually brought it worldwide recognition. The bell on a malachite stand was a gift to Hillwood by Frances Rosso and part of her collection of Russian artifacts now at Hillwood ( g. 8). Frances’ husband Augusto Rosso served as Italian Ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1941 where they assembled the collection. In 1969, Marjorie Post built a dacha on the estate to house this collection. Today, the Rosso collection is integrated with Hillwood’s permanent collection in the mansion, while the dacha houses special exhibitions. Russian porcelain gurines were one of Marjorie Post’s lesser-known interests. First becoming popular in the late 1700s, these gurines would ultimately document the ethnic groups and costumes of the peoples of the vast Russian Empire. The tall gurine featuring a woman from the Don region belongs to a series commissioned in 1907 by Emperor Nicholas II, and the other pieces represent expressions of early 1900s ceramic experiments highlightingWestern and Russian folk costume traditions ( gs. 9–11). Fig. 7: Vodka set. Maltsov Glassworks (Russian, 1756–present). Elizaveta Merkurevna Bëm (Boehm), designer (Russian, 1843–1914). Diatkovo, Russia, 1897. Glass, enamel. Museum purchase, 1997 (23.497.1–4). Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, photographed by Bruce M. White.