Russian Bronze Group of a Voivode (Boyar Morozov)
Cast by Shtange after the model by Evgeny Lanceray
On a naturalistic oval base, cast as a bogatyr' in traditional dress, armed with a mace, sword and axe, on horseback. Height 16 inches (40.6 cm).

Literature:
G.W. Sudbury, E.A. Lanceray: La Sculpture Russe du Cheval, Paris, 2006, pp. 107-108, a comparable model illustrated p. 79.
L. A. Dementieva, Album of Models by the Sculptor Eugene Lanceray, Moscow, 2011, No. 16, pp. 62-64, a comparable model illustrated.


Boyar Morozov is a portrait of the bogatyr' Druzhina Andreyevich Morozov, one of the characters from the historical novel Prince Serebryany (1862) by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875). The heroine, Elena, marries Boyar Morozov in order to escape the attentions of Prince Vyazemsky. The character of the prince is based on the historical figure of Prince Afanasii Ivanovich Vyazemsky, an oprichnik and favorite of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584). In the story, Vyazemsky leaves with Elena, and although Morozov accuses him of kidnapping her, Vyazemsky claims she left with him willingly. The dispute is resolved by Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who orders the two men to fight in a duel.

Lanceray depicts the figure of Boyar Morozov with his hallmark precision, using details from the description in Tolstoy's novel. The work was conceived as a companion piece to Oprichnik Prince Vyazemsky and both works were identified as "Prince Serebryany" in a photo album of Lanceray's sculpture which was inherited by the artist's descendants. The exact date of production of Boyar Morozov is unknown, however a cast in the collection of the Kiev Museum of Russian Art dates the work to as early as 1873.

A comparable model of Boyar Morozov was sold in these rooms October 31, 2018, lot 165. Other models were sold Christie's, London, November 29, 2010, lot 445; Christie's, London, November 25, 2013, lot 353; Sotheby's, New York, April 15-16, 2008, lot 545; and Sotheby's, New York, April 22, 2009, lot 404.