ATTRIBUTION OF GARDEN AND PARK ART IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FORENSIC ARTISTIC EXAMINATION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF OLD ODESA: DECORATION OF THE BALUSTRADE OF LIBMAN’S HOUSE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the attribution and dating of garden sculptures and decorative vases made of dense, super-hard ceramic mass, located as a symbolic representative decoration on the roof (on the balustrade) of an architectural monument of local significance – the building of the famous Odessa confectioner Bernhard Liebmann, built by architect Edward Mesner and engineer I. A. Morguliis in 1887–1888. This study is proposed by the author as an example of the study of similar objects on ancient houses and architectural ensembles, in the context of conducting a forensic art history examination of architectural monuments of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries, which, during expert research, can be classified as existing artistic, historical, ethnographic and scientific significance Complete analogies to Odessa sculptors were found among European palace complexes, museum collections, facts of sale of similar sculptures at international auctions were established; their exact fabrication has been established, belonging to a company founded by the German manufacturer Ernst March, who founded his own artistic and industrial production of architectural and garden sculpture in the Berlin suburb of Charlottenburg in the first half of the 19th century. The study is intended to attract special attention of experts when conducting examinations of architectural monuments for decorative elements that may be of special cultural value, both in the context of integral parts of the monuments themselves, and independently. This becomes especially relevant when carrying out restoration work, when it is necessary to preserve authentic elements as much as possible without replacing them with modern fakes. The study used art historical analysis, iconographic and comparative methods.