* A PINK AND BLUE ENAMELLED GOLD CUP PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION    Caucasus or Russia, dated 1850 Of traditional cylindrical shape, on flat base inscribed in Old Slavonic script and with central coat of arms, with slightly splayed rim marked with a French import hallmark (owl), the body with painted light blue, pink, white, green and black enamels, the decoration on the exterior consisting of a register of diamond-shaped cartouches filled with pink carnations and stylised light blue irises within floral borders, next to them triangular cartouches with same flowers from a different angle within blue borders, the top with a festoon and half roundels of flower heads repeating same pattern below, 7.5cm high and 7cm diam, 152gr. This cup is accompanied by the Assay Office London X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy Certificate testifying that the inscription on the base measures 22 carat and all other parts above 23 carat. Inscription: 'This cup was granted by His Imperial Majesty the heir to the throne (tsesarevitch) Alexander Nikolaevitch, October 1850'. Alexander Nikolaevitch (or Nikolayevich) Romanov, the person mentioned in the Old Slavonic inscription on the base of our cup, was Tsar Nicholas I's heir to the throne. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death in 1855, crowned as Tsar Alexander II, and he is remembered in Russia to this day as a great reformer and the promoter of the serfs' emancipation in 1861. The young Alexander received a liberal education and differently from his predecessors, he was taken on a six-month tour of Russia in 1837, visiting 20 provinces in the country. His travels continued in the years to come, when he visited prominent Western European countries, Siberia, and Central Asian countries sharing borders with Russia (Edvard Radzinsky, Alexander II: the Last Great Tsar, 2005, pp. 63-69 and 190-200). Particularly meaningful are the records that report Alexander travelling to Georgia, Armenia and Baku in the months of September and October 1850, just before the breakout of the Crimean war in 1853. In Georgia, he met with the Qajar prince Bahman Mirza (1810 - 1884), the grandson of Fath 'Ali Shah, vali of Azerbaijan and governor of Tabriz. He then went to Armenia, where in Yerevan he was greeted by Azis Khan, the local Qajar governor (Alexander Polovtsov, The Russian Biographical Dictionary, volume 1, Aaron - Alexander II, 1896, pp. 447-448). It is likely to believe that this cup was commissioned during one of these travels and that it may have been used as a diplomatic gift. The coat of arms in the centre of the base showcases per fess dancetty of three points argent and gules with supporters two lion rampants regardant, below a counts coronet. The central shield is reminiscent of the Franconian Rake, an heraldic ordinary with a simple zig-zag line of partition that divides the escutcheon or shield into red and silver fields. This simple and regionally widespread symbol was first officially recognised as the Franconian coat of arms in 1804, when Prince Elector Maximilian IV Joseph incorporated it into the Bavarian coat of arms. A special acknowledgement goes to Victoria Klyueva for her prompt assistance with the translation of the Old Slavonic inscription and biographical insights for this note. * Please note that this lot is subject to import VAT at a preferential rate of 5% on the Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on the Buyer's Premium.