the decanter body of traditional rectangular shtof form, with three shot glasses, each piece of green glass with hand-painted black and orange enamel designs featuring frolicking little devils and a humorous imaginary conversation between the drinker and the glasses, the decanter with an original stopper covered with red enamel mimicking a wax seal, signed and dated along the bottom edge of the front panel of the shtof, height of decanter with cover: 23 cm (9 in.), height of glasses: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)

LOT NOTES
An identical set is located in the permanent collection of the Hillwood Museum, Washington DC, accession number 23.497-1-4

Although perhaps best remembered as Russia`s leading postcard painter of the 19th century, Elizaveta Bem was also known to have experimented with designs for glass and ceramics, which earned her a medal at the 1893 World Fair in Chicago. It is not surprising then, that shortly thereafter Bem was approached by the Maltsov glass factory to design a series of works based on the then exceedingly popular Russian Revival style, utilizing pre-Petrine forms so masterly showcased in the present lot.