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The most successful privately owned glassworks in Russia was the Dyat’kovo Glass Works founded by Marya Vasilyevna Maltsov in 1793. This factory, located in the Trubchevsk district of the Oryol province, was her third glasshouse, others being located in the Vladimir and Bryansk districts. What started with the purchase of a single glasshouse near Moscow in 1730 by Vasily Maltsov, became a glass empire by 1874, with sixteen glassworks being owned by three branches of the Maltsov family. The Maltsov business still exists, now smaller and state owned, a victim of the Russian Revolution. The glass from Dyat’kovo shows the influence of Bohemian (from where glass masters were hired over the years) and French glassworks. The clear glass is slightly dark and elaborately, though less deeply, cut. Sulphide paperweights and objects with enameled gold foil incrustations are known, dating from the 1850s.
Some of the finest antique lampwork seals, paperweights and plaques have been the object of much discussion and speculation over the years. Originally thought to have come from Mt. Washington, many of these are engraved with Cyrillic initials which suggested a possible Russian origin. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain a number of these have surfaced in Russia, Poland and other eastern block countries. The discovery of a period price list recently verified that these wonderful items were indeed made by Dyat’kovo. The number of known examples of these items is quadruple what it was a decade or so ago. These are still rare items with fewer than a hundred objects known, each different.
Excerpted from The Dictionary of Glass Paperweights, Paul H. Dunlop, Papier Presse 2009.
At the left is an example of a special octagonal plaque made by Dyat'kovo Glass Works in the late nineteenth century (for illustration only, as this weight is not available). This glassworks make lampwork paperweights, plaques, seals and candlesticks. Fewer than one hundred total items are recorded at this time. In the last three years we have handled about 30% of the known pieces and always try to have exceptional items in inventory. As these are very rare items and sell quickly it is unlikely that we will ever list any here. If you are interested in adding a Russian piece to your collection, please contact us.
call (800)227-1996 10AM till 10PM EST to inquire about Russian weights we may have
or e-mail us at [email protected]
