ATTRIBUTION OF THE TILED STOVE OF THE RUSOV APARTMENT HOUSE IN ODESSA IN THE CONTEXT OF “DEVELOPMENT OF A METHODOLOGY FOR CONDUCTING ART CRITIC EXPERTISE OF ANTIQUE TERRACOTTA, TILED, MAJOLICA STOVES AND FIREPLACES IN RELATION TO THEIR BELONGING TO CU

Abstract

The article is devoted to the attribution of a complex of finds of ceramic products (oven tiles) in a tenement house Rusov’s house at ul. Sadovaya, 21 in the city of Odessa, built in 1897–1900 by order of Odessa entrepreneur, homeowner and philanthropist O.P. Rusov, architects L.M. Chernigov and V.I. Schmidt. The article also covers some problematic issues of preserving tile stoves and tile fireplaces, which are cultural values. On the basis of certain signs, such as the presence of brands on the studied tiles and their fragments, as well as on the basis of iconographic comparative art analysis, the author of the article found out that the studied products belong to the famous manufacturer of kiln tiles, the Finnish factory “Аво” (Åbo kakelfabriks akt Oy), which existed in the city of Abo (now the city of Turku) from 1874–1946. Furnaces corresponding to the remains of Odessa were found, which mainly come from the territory of modern Finland. Their good preservation illustrates the excellent attitude towards objects of cultural heritage on the part of European society and legislation. These studies are carried out as part of the scientific research work “Development of the methodology for the art-exploratory examination of antique terracotta, tile, faience, majolica stoves and fireplaces regarding their belonging to cultural values that have historical, artistic, ethnographic and scientific significance”, which is conducted by ОNDISE scientists. Appropriate scientific development of this issue can become an important legacy when performing art-historical examinations on architectural monuments in Ukraine, for example, illegally rebuilt or destroyed during hostilities, when there is a threat of loss of the object of protection to cultural heritage objects.