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Fine pair of colourful menus, one abundantly inscribed and signed, the other fully painted and written by hand.

From the collection of Dmitrii Oznobishin, a distinguished Russian Major-General and adjutant to Prince Georgii Romanovskii, Duke of Leuchtenberg, as well as a noted collector and bibliophile.

In June 1900, Russia joined the international coalition—alongside Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Japan—in response to the Boxer Rebellion, an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in northern China. By the end of August, coalition forces had seized control of Peking, and by October, Russian troops had taken full occupation of Manchuria.

The “Menu of the Farewell Breakfast Given by His Majesty’s Guard Lancers to Captain Oznobishin, Commander of the 6th Squadron of the Regiment Before His Departure on a Business Trip to China. 28 June 1900, Warsaw” features a humorous “Chinese” scene of a romantic chase. The breakfast itself was an elaborate affair, offering “vodka-sandwiches,” printanier-kurnik (a springtime chicken pie), sturgeon with tartar sauce, roast beef, salad, asparagus, muscovite (fruit jelly), coffee liqueurs, and fresh fruit.

The verso of the menu bears a warm inscription from Oznobishin’s comrades: “On behalf of the Tsar’s Lancers and the commander, we wish complete happiness to dear Dmitrii Ivanovich Oznobishin. Cordially yours. L[eontii Nikolaevich] Baumgarten” (1853–1931), commander of the Guard Lancer Regiment. Among the other signatories were Colonel Nikolai Nikolaevich Benua (1858–1915); Cornet (later Colonel) Nikolai Nikolaevich Av-Meinander (1871–1911); and Lieutenant (later commander) Sergei Mikhailovich Molostvov (1875–1915), who added a curious folk verse celebrating camaraderie. Other signatures include Cornet Offenberg, P. Ragozin, Viktor von Kraus, Commanders (rittmeisters) L. Gorbuntsov and E. Kavelin, and likely Colonel Konstantin Mavrikievich Volf (1856–1921), who also added a friendly note: “Don’t forget the Lancers, and they will never forget you.”

The second menu was created for a Christmas lunch held on 25 December 1900 in Niuzhuang (also known as Newchwang, now Yingkou), which had been under Russian occupation since September. A charming Chinese-style illustration in watercolour and ink decorates the left and upper edges of the menu, depicting an idyllic autumn scene in a Chinese town. The festive meal included shchi (cabbage soup) with pies, fish pudding, roast lamb, salad, roast pheasants, lingonberries, cheese, dessert, and coffee. Oznobishin appears to have been among the officers in attendance.

Major-General Dmitrii Oznobishin (1869–1956) of the General Staff went on to serve as military attaché in France during the First World War. After emigrating to France, he became Chairman of the Union of Russian Officers, a member of the Association of the Guard Lancers Cossack Regiment, and an honorary member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Military Antiquities. Renowned for his collection of rare military prints and paraphernalia, Oznobishin was also member of the French “bibliophils du cornet” and one of the founding figures behind the establishment of the Guard Lancers Regiment Museum in Courbevoie, near Paris.

Provenance

Dmitrii Oznobishin.

Bibliography

Agafonov, Anatolii. “Dom russkoi slavy v Parizhe” // Prostranstvo i Vremia, 2017, #2-4 (28-30).