Fabulous Fabergé, An Appreciation

There are goldsmiths, master artisans and a few that defy description. Peter Carl Faberge belongs to the last select category... he was the personal jeweler to the Russian Czar and creator of  Poetry in Stone...producing an array of fabulous pieces and royal knicknacks.

We've had the privilege of admiring Faberge's exquisite creations in Russia, Paris Louvre, New York's MET along with frequent visits to the lovely collection at the Houston Natural Science Museum.

Thought I'd share videos, and descriptions of some of these pieces along with some fun facts.

The Whole album of our Faberge videos is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fjMs3C1mbBchX3yH9

These are all basically gold or silver pieces with enameling and customized embellishments with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other gems. 

Each piece is EXQUISITE! 

Kelch Rocaille Egg:

This is the  Kelch Rocaille Egg, made by Faberge in 1902,  one of a series of seven bought by Russian industrialist Alexander as a gift for his wife, but in truth paid for with her money.

Rocaille means “rococo” [ornate]. Supported by 3 scrolled feet, the egg is adorned with gold cartouches, platinum flowers set with diamonds and gold palms set with diamonds.

Surprise inside, now displayed by the side of the egg: gold tripod surmounted by a heart enamelled in rose, on one side with diamond initials BK and the other with year 1902.

Back story for this egg's owner goes as follows: Wealthy Russian heiress Varvara Bazanova married cash-poor nobleman Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kelkh (also spelled Kelch) in 1892, she obtained a noble title and he obtained access to her money. When Kelkh died two years later, the heiress married Nikolai’s younger brother, Alexander who got this egg as present for her!

Imperial Presentation Snuff Boxes:

Here are few more fabulous pieces...Imperial presentation snuff boxes. Note the imperial initials and royal portraits on the boxes and cases!

Gold and Guilloché Enamel Imperial Presentation Snuff-Box here...with a water color on ivory miniature of Emperor Nicholas II
presented by the Emperor to the Turkish ambassador in 1903 [Price realised GBP 937,250].  [purchased from Fabergé on 16 May 1909 at a cost of 2,500 roubles\

Nicholas II presented a total of fifty-four snuff-boxes with his miniature portrait, twenty of these to prominent Russians and thirty-four to foreign dignitaries

This is a Cigar case...

Portrait frames...adorned with borders of diamonds, pearls...

To put the size of these in perspective, this is what the display shelves look like:

HISTORY OF THIS COLLECTION:

In 2003 while on a quest for French chandeliers, Dorothy McFerrin of Houston bought what she believed to be an Easter egg created by the famed Russian artisan Peter Carl Faberge.

Quickly, though, she learned she had spent thousands of dollars on an egg that was not the work of the Russian czar's personal jeweler though it was covered in real gems and gold  That mistake sparked this collection

Today, McFerrin and her husband, Artie McFerrin, own one of the largest private collections of authentic Faberge items in the United States.

The McFerrins have a broad collection of Faberge and czarist artifacts, including photo albums of yellowing pictures of the Romanov family, ornate cigarette holders, exquisite jeweled matchboxes, elaborate gold-threaded women's evening bags and even the pillowcase in which some items were smuggled out of Russia,

Included in that collection, now nearly all of which is on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, is one egg gifted by the Russian czar to his wife, and two others considered by experts to be among the "big ones" because they were made for the Nobel family and the Kelch family, affluent merchants from Moscow.

There are cigarette cases, vanity cases, jewelry, boxes, picture frames, fans and stone figurines by Faberge in this exhibition... some 350 objects
Here's a lady's evening bag made of gold threads...

These are opera accessories...hand painted silk fans with ivory handles studded with diamonds...

Here's our video:
 https://photos.app.goo.gl/1JZDSge3SuhhKEHm8

Empress Josephine diamond tiara:

This is the dazzling Empress Josephine diamond tiara...here's our video:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/B49GNaSybP9dQNzn9 

It's known today as the Empress Joséphine Tiara despite the fact that Joséphine died decades before the tiara was made.

Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) was the first wife of Napoleon I. They divorced in 1810 and Joséphine lived at the Château de Malmaison, where her visitors included Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825). The 8 huge briolette-cut diamonds were given to Joséphine by the Tsar on one of his visits. They were high-quality diamonds, of exceptional clarity and size, and were passed down to her son Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824).

His son Maximilian married the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas I, Russia.

Czar Alexander I gave only the eight huge, briolette-cut diamonds to Josephine in 1810. Fabergé created the tiara in 1890, adding 214 old-cut diamonds and about 400 tiny sparklers. The white gold setting was left unpolished,

Graduated arches of old-cut diamonds resting on a diamond band are separated by large individual collet diamonds.

Suspended from each arch is a pendant culminating in a large diamond, a pear-shaped stone in the center with a combination of briolette and old-cut diamonds to the sides.

The band and the pendants include touches of foliate design, adding just enough flow to soften the hard points of the arches.

Christie's auctioned the tiara in 2007. Surpassing initial estimates of $788,800 - $1,183,200, it sold for a whopping $2,071,389, the value due not only to the history and the large size and high quality of the individual diamonds, but to the Fabergé mark.

SO WHO WAS PETER CARL FABERGE?

Peter Carl Faberge was the son of a jeweler in St Petersburg, Russia who owned the House of Faberge. When Carl was 14 years old, his father retired and moved back to Germany, his birth place. Carl was sent around the world to study the best types of jewelry-making and gold smithing. And he received loads of inspiration and technical know how.

HOW DID FABERGE BECOME ASSOCIATED WITH THE RUSSIAN CZARS?

In the 19th century, Russian Orthodox Christians held Easter as the most important day of the year. 

Following a strict fast throughout all of Great Lent, Easter was a day of celebration of Christ's resurrection.To celebrate this holiday, Tsar Alexander III decided to give his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna, an Easter egg in 1885, probably also to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their betrothal. Faberge was entrusted with the order. And thus started the fantastic journey of Faberge.

Known as the Hen Egg, the first Fabergé egg is made of gold. Its opaque white enameled "shell" opens to reveal a matte yellow-gold yolk. This, in turn, opens to reveal a multicolored gold hen that also opens. The hen contained a minute diamond replica of the imperial crown from which a small ruby pendant was suspended, but these last two elements have been lost.

Maria was so delighted by the gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a "goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown" and commissioned another egg the next year; this tradition continued 

After Alexander III's death on 1 November 1894, his son, Nicholas II, presented a Fabergé egg to both his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna, and his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna. 

There are 50 such imperial eggs...  each contain a surprise, and each is unique.   20 were given to the former and 30 to the latter. .

The imperial eggs enjoyed great fame, and Fabergé was commissioned to make similar eggs for a few private clients.

Faberge continued to make jewelry and other items for the royalty and aristocrats.

During the Russian revolution when the soldiers stormed the royal palace, Carl Faberge was with the king. He was allowed to leave along with the Doctor while the whole royal family was killed.

Following the revolution and the nationalization of the Fabergé workshop in St. Petersburg by the bolsheviks in 1918, Carl Fabergé  left Russia in the last diplomatic train and went to Germany, his birth place. His wife also escaped with their eldest son Eugene on sleigh and on foot through snowy woods and reached Finland

His other sons Alexander and Agathon were put in prison. Agathon was released for a little while to value the royal jewels seized. But the market was flooded with looted stuff and the value had crashed. So Agathon was put back in prison for giving wrong valuation.

Meanwhile, Carl Fabergé was in Germany and became seriously ill. Eugène joined him and accompanied him to Switzerland, where other members of the family had taken refuge. Carl Fabergé died in Lausanne on 24 September 1920, broken hearted. His wife died in January 1925.

Alexander managed to escape from prison when a friend bribed guards, Agathon escaped only in November 1927 with his wife  and son . Agathon and his family spent the rest of their lives in Finland.

In 1924, Alexander and Eugène opened Fabergé & Cie in Paris, where they had a modest success. 
The reputation of Faberge pieces was still high. 

 Following the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of the oligarchs, Russian collectors sought to repatriate many of Fabergé's works, and auction prices reached record highs. In 2007, the Rothschild Fabergé Egg was auctioned at Christie's in London for £8.98 million. 
The House of Faberge changed hands a few times, now two great grand daughters are reunited with the company     

IMPERIAL EGGS:

Here's our video of the Faberge Eggs in Houston museum:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BAFDSUS9FXd6NU9b9

 Each egg took more than a year to create

Of the 52 eggs Faberge made for the Romanov family, 42 have survived, according to the website of Faberge. Dozens of other eggs were made for other affluent families — though only the czar's wife could have the color mauve in a creation — and the McFerrins own between 40 and 50 of those.

In a similar egg, Upon the hour, a diamond set cockerel pops up from the top of the egg, flaps its wings four times, nods his head three times, crowing all the while during this routine. This lasts fifteen seconds, before the clock strikes the hour on a bell.

Here's another egg with its surprise... coronation egg with a royal coach inside

The Napoleonic egg with its surprise...we saw this at NewYork MET[ these 3 pics are from online]

Imperial Diamond Trellis Egg:

1891 Imperial Diamond Trellis Egg...was a gift of Tsar Alexander III to Tsarina Maria Feodorovna on Easter, 1892.

The egg is made of jadeite, gold, rose-cut diamonds, and is lined with white satin. It is carved from pale green jadeite and is enclosed in a lattice of rose-cut diamonds with gold mounts. The egg is hinged, and a large diamond sits at its base.Originally it was supported on a base of three silver putti, the three sons of the imperial couple.The putti were set on a jadeite base.

The surprise was an automaton of an elephant in ivory. It was the first automaton made by Fabergé for an Imperial egg, his next automaton was made in 1900 for the Pine Cone egg presented to Barbara Kelch. A small key wound the ivory elephant which had a small gold tower on its back decorated with rose-cut diamonds. The sides of the elephant were decorated with gold and five precious stones. The tusks, trunk and harness were decorated with small diamonds, and a black mahout sat on its head. 

By Jafd88 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81600713

NOBEL EGG:

Here is the 1913 Nobel egg and the "surprise" watch that was enclosed...

Also referred to as the Snowflake egg, it is a jewelled enamelled Fabergé Easter egg for the Swedish-Russian oil baron and industrialist Emanuel Nobel between 1913 and 1914.

Emanuel Nobel was the brother of Alfred Nobel who instituted the Nobel prizes...

This is one of only about 15 large eggs Fabergé made for clients other than the Romanovs. It was designed by Ana Phil, a granddaughter of work master Albert Holmström.

Ana Phil was sitting by the window and it began to snow. And as the snow began to melt, she could see the patterns of the flakes on the window. The pendant shown alongside it would have dangled inside the egg.

The exterior of Nobel Ice Egg is enamelled in translucent white over engraved ‘frosted snowflakes’ and is set with two rows of seed pearls, around its ‘long’ middle

Imperial Presentation Boxes:

An imperial presentation box ( gold and diamond box) by Faberge...

Gold and Guilloché Enamel Technique:

This intricate green guilloche work, made by layering several colors of enamel heated to precise degrees, was a Fabergé specialty.

No one since has been able to reproduce the same effects. The various colors are made through the addition of copper, silver, zinc, iron, etc., to form an alloy, for example, green gold is 75 parts of pure gold to 25 parts of silver.

Using a machine called a guilloché , craftsmen mixed powdered glass and metal oxides, heating them at extremely high temperatures as they engraved designs that included ribbonlike moiré and meshlike basket-weave effects

Fabergé offered guilloche in about 140 colors. A single object might have seven layers of different colors, each heated to a precise temperature. And one little flaw could render a year's work garbage.

Tsarina's pink triangular clock bought for 215 rubles in 1901...

 If the temperature wasn't to the 'nth degree, guilloche would crack. And if that happened, they would throw it out and start from scratch. It didn't matter how much time it took.

Cloisonné enamel cases by Carl Fabergé:

We saw the guilloche pieces earlier, Faberge also used the technique of Cloisonne. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French} to the metal object by soldering or affixing silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges.

 These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln.  

Again, so amazing!

JEWELRY:

There is a plethora of pretty pieces . 

Our video of Faberge jewelry is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rcShfbJkgtoTvfXz5

Here's a small piece explained... this Fabergé brooch depicts the company's most successful logistic inventions, a railway oil carriage (left) and the oil tanker Zoroaster (right).

In the middle of the brooch is a golden oil-drilling rig, topped by an oil cistern decorated with the Russian double-headed eagle, and on the reverse, a miniature portrait of Ludvig Nobel (1831-1888), who is credited with creating the Russian oil industry of the time.

PHOTO FRAMES:

All stunning pieces!

Here's a special 2 sided photo frame...

This is a superb example of the goldsmith’s art.

Inspired by a two-sided Louis XVI fire-screen, one side contains a photograph of Emperor Nicholas II and the other of his Empress, Alexandra Feodorovna.

This was a gift from the Emperor to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna in 1910.

The gold and platinum frame is enamelled white and seed pearls are set round the oval bezels.

The whole is embellished with floral swags in multi-coloured gold. 

The frame is 18.4 cm (7.1 in) high

STATUES:

One piece Fabergé replicated from Dresden was a cup made of rhinoceros horn, held by an oriental figure.

This particular statuette, a near replica, is made of nephrite and smoked topaz with pearls and small precious stones.

 It was shown in the 1893 Fabergé Moscow catalog and sold for 4,000 rubles, the same amount the Russian Royal Family paid for a single Imperial Easter Egg.

Fabergé Menagerie, and floral studies

Russia has vast areas of rich mineral deposits with the most famous area being the Ural mountains in Siberia. Russian gemstones include Diamonds, Jade,Alexanderite, Charolite, Agate, Amber, Serphinite, Rhodonite, Diopside, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Topaz, Citrine, Emerald, Garnet,Opal, Malachite and many areas are yet to be discovered.

With so much natural resources, lapidary work creating beautiful art pieces out of these also flourished. Faberge truly embraced it.

Here's a one piece jade elephant figurine with brilliant eyes

Here's a spectacular sea lion carved from obsidian which has been polished so expertly that the miniature creature looks as if it has just hopped out of the ocean on to some floating piece of ice, and that its skin is still wet.

Fabergé made great flower study too.

Fabergé every day objects... CLOCKS:

Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna jointly purchased this blue enameled clock in 1896 just weeks after they were married for 275 rubles.

One of the first furnishings they selected for their marital home, the clock has a blue enamel finish signifying true love.

On December 4, 1901, the Imperial couple added a pink triangular clock for 215 rubles.

The clock below denotes the night sky with diamonds twinkling as stars...

Lilies of the Valley motif, favorite flower of the queen, incorporated into the design of the red clock...

Bell Pushes:

Here are beautiful examples of Fabergé bell pushes made of many different materials and gemstones like nephrite and bowenite, as well as wood. No two items from Fabergé were ever exactly alike.

The stately homes of the aristocracy were staffed with many servants. When one needed to call for a servant, one walked over to the wall and used the “bell pull,” a long piece of fabric, tapestry with a tassel, attached to a cable inside the wall to servants quarters “downstairs” and rang a bell when pulled.

With advent of electricity, a button attached to electrical wire could set off a buzzer and/or electric light downstairs, indicating which room needed assistance.

Fabergé liked to use cabochon-cut gemstones for the actual button or “thumb push.” The bell pushes seen here are round, square and triangular and come in a variety of styles from neoclassical to art nouveau. These are wonderful examples of his enamel work and use of hard stones like nephrite and bowenite, as well as wood.

Fabergé liked to use cabochon-cut gemstones for the actual button or “thumb push.” The bell pushes seen here are round, square and triangular and come in a variety of styles from neoclassical to art nouveau.

TRIPLE BELL PUSH : Elephants carved of hardstone stand on enamelled carpets crafted from gold

Each has a cabochon push piece (sapphire on left, moonstone in centre and ruby on right)

The three-elephant bell push believed to be purchased by Nicholas II for his mother. It has three elephants with castles on their backs, which is the symbol of the Danish Royal House, and the Dowager Empress was born in Denmark. There is an invoice dated December 24, 1898 that shows the Emperor purchasing a bell push with three elephants. This bell push had to be for a large, important house to have not just one or two buttons, but three. Each thumb push, or button, is a different color cabochon-cut stone. As each stone is pressed, the elephant and carpet it stands on lowers to activate the bell push.

Thursdays have free entry at the Houston Natural Sciences museum and it's a great opportunity to enjoy these great master pieces. Of course they are well worth the entry price too!

Here are some cane toppers:

Hope the COVID situation comes under control and we can resume international travel, post our reports on this blog as usual!