NIKOLAI LIEBERICH (1828-1883) CAST BY C.F. WOERFFEL Fox hunting bronze inscribed 'Lieberich H. 28.5 cm, L. 32 cm Provenance : Collection of Adolf Rothstein (1858-1904), Russian banker and right-hand man of Sergei Witte, Finance Minister of Nicholas II; Subsequently, by descent to the present owner, private collection, Europe. The following lots come from the collection of Adolf Rothstein (1858-1904), one of the most powerful Russian bankers of the early 20th century and right-hand man of Finance Minister Sergei Witte. Acquired as new, they passed directly to his great-grandson and, after more than a century in the same family, are now being offered at auction for the first time. Adolf Rothstein was born into modest circumstances in Berlin, but showed an early talent for financial affairs. He first worked for a German bank, but soon moved to Russia where he had a brilliant career, becoming director and general manager of two huge private Russian banks: the International Commercial Bank of St Petersburg and the Russian-Chinese Bank, which had branches in Siberia, Manchuria, China and Japan. In the 1890s, he became close to Sergei Witte, Nicholas II's finance minister, and helped attract foreign bank loans to Russia, particularly for business and infrastructure development in the Russian Far East. Naturalised as a subject of the Tsar, he was decorated with the Order of St Vladimir and was the first man of the Jewish faith to be admitted to the ranks of the hereditary nobility of the Empire. In 1900, he travelled to New York, probably - although he denies it - to obtain a loan from American banks. This was partly to cover debts incurred as a result of the enormous costs of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was still under construction and in which Rothstein played a key role. He was received in New York with great honours and was the subject of several articles in the New York Times. The Boxer Rebellion in China was at its height and Rothstein was asked several times about the rebellion and the outcome he predicted, as well as about relations between Russia and China, on the one hand, and Japan, on the other. On these issues, he is optimistic and seeks to reassure the American public that things will soon be sorted out. On 13 June 1900, the New York Times wrote: "Mr. A. Rothstein, whose lectures this week with Wall Street bankers have aroused much interest, is one of the best known financiers of the Russian Empire.... Mr Rothstein is in the prime of life and has a very attractive personality. He has a very discreet manner. He speaks fluent English and is very serious when it comes to conversation..." On June 19, the same newspaper proclaimed, under the headline "Lights on Mr. Rothstein, the Great Russian Banker who is in New York": "It is doubtful if a man in a thousand is aware of the presence in this country of one of the half-dozen most influential and important men in the Russian Empire, or if they have caught a glimpse of his name among the recent arrivals, they are aware of the enormous extent of his power." The simple announcement that Mr. Rothstein, of the Imperial Bank of Russia, is talking with financiers in New York, with a view to establishing a Moscow bank in the United States, will have attracted little attention except from financiers, but the general public will be interested to know that he is the alter ego of Count de Witte, the Czar's famous Finance Minister, and that he occupies much the same position vis-à-vis the Count as the Capuchin monk, Father Joseph, popularly known as 'Grey Eminence', occupied vis-à-vis the great Cardinal de Richelieu. Count Witte does nothing without Rothstein's advice and counsel, and inasmuch as Count Witte is by far the most powerful of all Russian statesmen, holding the purse strings of the Empire and exercising influence over every branch of the Imperial administration, Herr Rothstein's importance will be readily appreciated..." But Russia was heading for a troubled decade, with the troubles beginning in the Far East. In 1904, Rothstein left St Petersburg to visit his family in Berlin; as soon as he arrived, he learned of the outbreak of war between Russia and Japan. He immediately returned to St Petersburg, sold all his Russian possessions and handed them over to the Imperial Crown. He then returned to Berlin, contracted Spanish flu and died very quickly and suddenly at the age of 46. His widow was the famous actress Eugenie Legrenzi, born in Bohemia, of Italian descent, and ten years younger than her husband. After her husband's death, she left St Petersburg with their two young children, first for the fashionable spa town of Bad Ischl in Austria, where Rothstein had built a holiday villa (the Villa Rothstein, which still stands today), and then for Graz, where she had relatives. One of the two children died of Spanish flu; the other is the grandmother of the current vendor. Ivan Samarine NIKOLAI LIEBERICH (1828-1883) CAST BY C.F. WOERFFEL Fox hunt bronze inscribed 'Lieberich H. 28.5 cm, W. 32 cm Provenance: Collection of Adolf Rothstein (1858-1904), Russian banker and right-hand man to the Nicholas II's minister of finance Sergei Witte Thence by descent to the present day, Europe The following lots are from the collection of Adolf Rothstein (1858-1904), one of the most powerful Russian bankers of the turn of the twentieth century, and right-hand man to the minister of finance Sergei Witte. Acquired when they were new, they have descended directly to his great-grandson, and after more than a century in the same family are now offered for auction for the first time. Adolf Rothstein was born in humble circumstances in Berlin but showed a precocious talent for financial affairs at a young age. He first worked for a German bank, but soon moved to Russia where he made a brilliant career, rising to become the director and general manager of two enormous private Russian banks: the International Commercial Bank in St. Petersburg, and the Russo-Chinese Bank which had branches in Siberia, Manchuria, China and Japan. In the 1890s he had become close to Sergei Witte, Nicholas II's Minister of Finance, and was instrumental in attracting foreign bank loans to Russia, specifically for the development of business and infrastructure in Russia's Far East. A naturalised subject of the Tsar, he was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir, and was the first man of Jewish faith to be admitted to the ranks of the hereditary nobility of the Empire. In 1900, he travelled to New York, probably - although he denied it - to arrange a loan from American banks. This was partially to cover debts incurred from the massive costs of the Trans-Siberian Railroad which was still under construction and in which Rothstein played a critical role. He was received in New York with great honours and was the subject of several articles in the New York Times. The Boxer rebellion in China was at its height, and Rothstein was repeatedly questioned about it and what outcome he predicted, and also on Russia's and China's relations with Japan. On these matters he sounded optimistic and sought to reassure the American public that things would soon settle down. On the 13th June 1900, the New York Times wrote: "Mr. A. Rothstein, whose conferences this week with the bankers of Wall Street have aroused much interest, is one of the best known financiers of the Russian Empire....Mr. Rothstein is in the prime of his life, and has a personality that is very attractive. He is of very unassuming manners. He speaks English fluently and is very earnest when engaged in conversation...." On the 19th of June, the same newspaper proclaimed, under the headline "Side Lights on Mr. Rothstein, the Great Russian banker who is in New York" "It is doubtful that one man in a thousand is aware of the presence in this country of one of the half dozen most influential and important men in the Russian Empire, or if they have caught sight of his name amongst the recent arrivals they are aware of the tremendous extent of his power. The mere announcement that M. Rothstein, of the Imperial Bank of Russia, is conferring with financiers in New York, with the object of establishing a Muscovite bank in the United States, will have attracted but little attention save on the part of the financiers, but the general public will be interested to know that he is the alter ego of Count de Witte, the celebrated Minister of Finance of the Czar, and fills much the same position toward the Count as the Capuchin monk, Father Joseph, popularly known as the "Grey Eminence," occupied toward the great Cardinal Richelieu. Count Witte does nothing whatsoever without the advice and counsel of Rothstein, and inasmuch as Count Witte is far and away the most powerful of all Russian statesmen, holding the purse strings of the Empire, and exercising an influence over every branch of the Imperial Administration, the importance of Herr Rothstein will be readily appreciated..." But Russia was heading into a troubled decade, troubles which began precisely in the Far East. In 1904 Rothstein left St. Petersburg to visit his family in Berlin; no sooner had he arrived than he heard the news of the outbreak of war between Russia and Japan. He immediately returned to Saint Petersburg, sold all his Russian assets and gave them over to the Imperial Crown. He then returned to Berlin, contracted Spanish flu, and died very quickly and suddenly at the age of 46. His widow was the well-known actress Eugenie Legrenzi, born in Bohemia of Italian descent, and ten years younger than her husband. After her husband's death she left St. Petersburg with their two young children, first for the fashionable spa town of Bad Ischl in Austria, where Rothstein had built a holiday villa (the Villa Rothstein, which still stands to this day) and eventually to Graz where she had family. Of the two children, one was also carried away by Spanish flu; the other is the grandmother of the present vendor. Ivan Samarine