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LOT 2043
Bronze Grand Tour Moscow Cannon Model
ITALY, LATE 19TH CENTURY A.D.
9 1/2 in. (3.49 kg, 24.1 cm wide).
Miniature of the 'Moscow Cannon' or 'Tsar Cannon', located in the Kremlin; on a wheeled carriage with lion-mask, rampant lion among tendrils and other detailing; pile of cannonballs to the base with 'paving stones' effect and Cyrillic text to one angle; original cast in 1586 by Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov, it is a significant monument of Russian artillery and a major tourist attraction.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a S.W. London gentleman, acquired in the 1970s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The original cannon was put into service in 1586 by Tsar Feodor I Ioannovich, son of Ivan IV. It weighed 39.31 tons and had a length of 5.34 metres, an internal diameter of 89 cm, and an external diameter of 1.2 metres. It was the largest cannon in the world of its time. The Tsar Cannon was never used in war, but was likely intended as a display of military might from the beginning. Some researchers argue that this cannon could not fire its two-ton projectiles but its purpose was to fire stone shrapnel.
The cannon is adorned with reliefs, including one of Tsar Feodor on a horse. The original wooden gun carriage was built in the early 19th century, but was destroyed by fire in 1812; the present gun carriage and projectiles were added in 1835.
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