Oriental Still-Life with a Satsuma Vase and an Amber Necklace

A still-life painting of rare and exotic objects, oriental applied arts, expensive glasses, amber beads and a pretty shell from warm seas would be seen anywhere as a sign of the owner’s interests. The objects portrayed in it are not functional, so the picture suggests that its owner is dissatisfied with daily routine and likes to escape to other worlds. Lazar Krestin (1868–1939) was born in Kaunas, and learned to draw at Vilnius School of Drawing. He became famous for his portraits of East European religious Jews. He painted this picture at the end of his life, when he returned from Jerusalem to Vienna, where there were many lovers and collectors of oriental art.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Orientalism. From the middle of the 19th century, photography helped to meet the needs of people who could not travel but who sought exotica, and Oriental images started to flourish in Western culture. The French art critic Eugène Fromentin wrote: ‘Photography turned the imaginary Orient into the real Orient’ (B. Wright, Correspondance d’Eugène Fromentin, 1995, p. 16). Tourist trips to Oriental countries began to be organised after the Suez Canal opened in 1862, people would bring back souvenirs, and the number of collectors of Oriental antiques increased. By the end of the 19th century, Orientalism had made its way into fashion and interiors. People covered the floors of their houses with Persian rugs, and hung Oriental miniatures, musical instruments and Arab weapons, such as knives, swords and pistols, on the walls. Oriental vases and manuscripts were displayed on tables, and women began to wear robes embroidered with gold and coins. Oriental still-lifes and domestic scenes also became popular.

A still-life that Lazar Krestin painted in Vienna in 1932 features pieces of applied art from the Far East: a Satsuma porcelain vase (porcelain from the Satsuma province of Japan attracted great interest when it was shown at the International Exposition in Paris in 1867), a Japanese statuette of lovers, a Kuji amber necklace (amber found in the Kuji area in Japan is the oldest in the world), glasses for drinking, a box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a seashell. Such Oriental still-lifes were in great demand until the late 1930s, and adorned many homes.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: “Académie de Vilna. Vilnius Drawing School (1866–1915)”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Jolanta Širkaitė). Published: Académie de Vilna: Vilniaus piešimo mokykla 1866-1915 / Vilnius drawing school: Exhibition Catalogue, Nacionalinė dailės galerija 2017 m. 4 d. - lapkričio 26 d., compiled by Jolanta Širkaitė, Vilnius: Lietuvos kultūros tyrimų institutas, 2017, p. 239.

A still-life painting of rare and exotic objects, oriental applied arts, expensive glasses, amber beads and a pretty shell from warm seas would be seen anywhere as a sign of the owner’s interests. The objects portrayed in it are not functional, so the picture suggests that its owner is dissatisfied with daily routine and likes to escape to other worlds. Lazar Krestin (1868–1939) was born in Kaunas, and learned to draw at Vilnius School of Drawing. He became famous for his portraits of East European religious Jews. He painted this picture at the end of his life, when he returned from Jerusalem to Vienna, where there were many lovers and collectors of oriental art.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Orientalism. From the middle of the 19th century, photography helped to meet the needs of people who could not travel but who sought exotica, and Oriental images started to flourish in Western culture. The French art critic Eugène Fromentin wrote: ‘Photography turned the imaginary Orient into the real Orient’ (B. Wright, Correspondance d’Eugène Fromentin, 1995, p. 16). Tourist trips to Oriental countries began to be organised after the Suez Canal opened in 1862, people would bring back souvenirs, and the number of collectors of Oriental antiques increased. By the end of the 19th century, Orientalism had made its way into fashion and interiors. People covered the floors of their houses with Persian rugs, and hung Oriental miniatures, musical instruments and Arab weapons, such as knives, swords and pistols, on the walls. Oriental vases and manuscripts were displayed on tables, and women began to wear robes embroidered with gold and coins. Oriental still-lifes and domestic scenes also became popular.

A still-life that Lazar Krestin painted in Vienna in 1932 features pieces of applied art from the Far East: a Satsuma porcelain vase (porcelain from the Satsuma province of Japan attracted great interest when it was shown at the International Exposition in Paris in 1867), a Japanese statuette of lovers, a Kuji amber necklace (amber found in the Kuji area in Japan is the oldest in the world), glasses for drinking, a box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a seashell. Such Oriental still-lifes were in great demand until the late 1930s, and adorned many homes.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: “Académie de Vilna. Vilnius Drawing School (1866–1915)”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Jolanta Širkaitė). Published: Académie de Vilna: Vilniaus piešimo mokykla 1866-1915 / Vilnius drawing school: Exhibition Catalogue, Nacionalinė dailės galerija 2017 m. 4 d. - lapkričio 26 d., compiled by Jolanta Širkaitė, Vilnius: Lietuvos kultūros tyrimų institutas, 2017, p. 239.