The Demidoff Service is one of the most magnificent French Services of the early 19th Century. The Service comprised 219 pieces that Count Nikolai Demidoff (1773-1828) purchased in 1817 and 1818 from Jean Baptiste Claude Odiot (1763-1850) of the famed dynasty of goldsmiths and silversmiths. It was his grandfather, Jean Baptiste Gaspard Odiot, who founded the firm in 1690, during the reign of Louis XIV, and who became recognized as one of the finest goldsmiths of his time.
On his arrival in Paris in 1801, Count Nikolai Demidoff (1773-1828) set out almost immediately to engage the services of the city's leading manufacturers of luxury decorative objects that, amongst others, included Odiot. Jean Baptiste Odiot usually worked with silver or gilded silver but was also known for his joint projects and close collaboration with other Parisian workshops that included the bronze maker, Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843). It was Demidoff who pioneered the creation of decorative objects, that became the hallmark of the Thomire workshop, that combined gilded bronze with malachite, that Demidoff would supply directly from his mines in the Urals.
Dr. Ludmila Budrina, an associate professor of modern art history at Ural Federal University, has published extensively on the history of Russian stone cutting in the 19th century and on the diffusion of malachite in the international decorative art market. In research undertaken at the Russian State Historical Archives, Dr. Budrina presented her findings in an article in 2019 entitled, "Unknown Projects by French Masters for Bronze and Malachite", that published by the State Hermitage Museum. One of these was an unsigned drawing, No. 16, that bears strong resemblance to a design drawing by Jean Baptiste Odiot that Audrey Gay-Mazuel presented in her 2017 publication, "Odiot: Un atelier d'orfevrerie sous l'Empire et la Restauration". The drawing is of a wide bowl with 'legs' in the form of lion paws. Three pencil inscriptions indicate the intention to use malachite in the facing of the bowl and in the base of the legs. According to Dr. Budrina this points towards a collaboration between the workshop of Thomire that was based on a design created by Odiot. Budrina further noted the strong similarity between the drawing and its description, and a bronze and malachite bowl that was sold in London by Christie's on 7 July 2005, Lot 429, "A Charles X Ormulu and Malachite Tazza, circa 1820-1830, possibly Russian".
The collaboration between Odiot and Thomire further extended into production methods. The Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York, who are in possession of various items from the Demidoff Service, in a Journal article in 1982, explained the use of specialised "bolts" (or screws) that were used to assemble and disassemble the larger candelabra and centerpieces of the Service. For Odiot, this method of "bolting" the larger pieces together, was a method adopted from bronze workers, and facilitated the assembly process for his shop assistants thus accelerating the shipment of these elaborate services to their growing list of royal and noble clients.
On the passing of Count Nikolai Demidoff in 1828, the Demidoff Service appears to have shipped from Palazzo Serristori, located on the banks of the Arno river in Florence, to Saint Petersburg. The import records, maintained at the Historical State Archives of Saint Petersburg, document the shipment by sea from Livorno to Saint Petersburg of a "Gold-Plated Silver Tableware Set" capable of entertaining up to 60 guests. Presumably, the Service then passed to his younger son, Anatole Demidoff (1813-1870), upon reaching his majority in the early 1830s, and while living in Paris. During the second half of 1863, Anatole Demidoff placed the Demidoff Service on loan to his sister-in-law, Aurore Demidova Karamzin (1808–1902), who, in September, 1863, hosted the lavish and highly successful state visit of Tsar Alexander II at Träskända Manor in Espoo, Finland.
Later that year, in November, 1863, Anatole Demidoff sold the Demidoff Service to Charles Frederick Hancock (1807-1891) who, in 1849, established the House of Hancocks, a leading diamond and silversmith company based in London. Demidoff and Hancock would have known each other from their mutual participation at the "Great Exhibition of 1851" in London, where each was awarded prestigious awards for their contribution. Hancock seemed to have wasted no time in finding a buyer for the Demidoff Service as the applied 'coat of arms' are marked with London hallmarks for 1863. The arms pertain to those of "de la Chapelle", as borne by Alfred de la Chapelle (1830-1914), Count of Morton and Beaulieu in Périgord. Alfred de la Chapelle died in Essex in 1914, when it appears that the Demidoff Service was acquired by an Englishman, presumably the "Gentleman of Title" cited in the Anderson Galleries's New York auction catalogue in 1928. It is extraordinary that the service survived intact over 100 years until its sale in New York in 1928.
The treasures of the House of Odiot continue to regularly come to market, and at the most presitgious auction houses, and commanding premium prices. For example, a large number of pieces from the Demidoff Service, came up for sale as recently as 7 July 2011, as Lot Number 30, at Christie's 'Exceptional Sale', that took place in London and sold for GBP 3,177,250. There also is keen interest amongst academic scholars to research the history of the luxurious works of Odiot as well as those of his other contemporary masters of French Empire-style metalwork and neoclassical artistry. To name only two, from amongst a large list, Dr. Ludmila Budrina has published numerous academic articles and books on the topic. More recently, Dr. Karolina Stefanski, published her important critical findings on Odiot's historical treasures in her glossy new book entitled, "Transformation of the Empire style in silverware from Berlin, Warsaw and Vienna. 1797 to 1848".
Today Odiot is managed by the inspired and talented Gilles-Emmanuel Trutat and his capable management team comprised of Inna Shablii and Anastasia Grouvel. The team hold a deep respect for their privileged role as custodians of a French national institution. This was underscored by Odiot's recognition as an Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, an official French state distinction awarded by the Minister of Economy to companies with rare, renowned, and excellent industrial/craftsmanship expertise. The executive, directors, and management team are united in their goal of honouring the rich and deep historical legacy of the House of Odiot as well as ensuring that the brand retains its exalted position for future generations of customers and collectors.
