RARE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN BADGE. Comprising a rare gilt bronze badge from the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts presumably marking the 75th anniversary of the school of drawing. Designed with the Imperial Russian Eagle beneath the crown holding banner inscribed with dates 1839-1914 and below set with a small circular icon of presumably St. Vladimir above the inscribed abbreviation Шко. П. X. (Школа Императорского общества поощрения художеств) and below the Roman numeral LXXV (75) corresponding to the years 1839-1914. Screw back post. 51 x 40 mm.

The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from 1820 to 1929. It was the oldest society of its kind in Russia. In the year 1839 by royal decree as issued by Tsar Nicholas I the Drawing School was created. At first, the school taught only sketching and drawing. Its objective was to enable artists to participate in crafts and industrial activities, as well as training teachers. Students were admitted all year and the lessons were free, until 1858 (when it was first operated by the Society), after which all but a few especially talented students had to pay a small fee. In 1889, a satellite school for low-income children was opened in the suburbs. In 1906, Nicholas Roerich was named Director. He created workshops for sewing and weaving, iconography, ceramics and porcelain painting. In addition, he hired well-known artists as instructors, including Ivan Bilibin, Dmitry Kardovsky and Arkady Rylov. One might presume that the addition of the small icon on the offered lot was to indicate that the recipient of the badge may have graduated from the school of iconography.

Provenance:
A private American collection.

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