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Lot Essay
This magnificent nephrite kovsh by Fabergé reflects the resurgence of historical styles in decorative arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The present rare example combines the traditional form of a Russian drinking vessel, kovsh, with a beautifully designed enamelled gold handle in neoclassical taste.
The kovsh is stamped with London import marks of 1912, and was most likely a special commission for one of Fabergé's British customers who often favoured classical design over neo-Russian style. The drawing of the present kovsh is featured in a surviving album of completed pieces by Henrik Wigström, numbered ‘13379’ and dated '19.XII.1912', the same year it was imported to London.
During the 1860s Carl Fabergé undertook his Grand Tour of Europe, before taking over his father's jewellery firm in 1872. Fabergé's interest in historical movements led him to visit numerous cities and princely collections, which served as inspiration for his future creations. Fabergé’s workmasters often reinterpreted European art as well as traditional Russian crafts.
A design of a candelabrum in the form of an urn with caryatids, attributed to a British architect Henry Holland (1745–1806), has some striking similarities with the design of the handle on the present lot, and might have been a source of inspiration (in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 61.516.1).
Other comparable nephrite kovshes by Fabergé of this size are housed in important museums and royal collections around the world and were commissioned for imperial presentation. A kovsh of similar size with the cypher of Nicholas II on the handle, which was presented by the tsar to the French Ambassador to Russia in 1906, is part of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs collection in Paris (inv. 2599). Another large nephrite kovsh with the handle in the rococo style is in the Fabergé Collection of His Late Majesty King Chulalongkorn of Thailand (see Exhibition Catalogue, The Faberge Collection of His Late Majesty King Chulalongkorn of Thailand, Bangkok, 1983, p. 104). One more comparable kovsh with a double-headed eagle on the handle, which is believed to be an imperial presentation gift, is in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland (inv. 57.1076).
The kovsh is stamped with London import marks of 1912, and was most likely a special commission for one of Fabergé's British customers who often favoured classical design over neo-Russian style. The drawing of the present kovsh is featured in a surviving album of completed pieces by Henrik Wigström, numbered ‘13379’ and dated '19.XII.1912', the same year it was imported to London.
During the 1860s Carl Fabergé undertook his Grand Tour of Europe, before taking over his father's jewellery firm in 1872. Fabergé's interest in historical movements led him to visit numerous cities and princely collections, which served as inspiration for his future creations. Fabergé’s workmasters often reinterpreted European art as well as traditional Russian crafts.
A design of a candelabrum in the form of an urn with caryatids, attributed to a British architect Henry Holland (1745–1806), has some striking similarities with the design of the handle on the present lot, and might have been a source of inspiration (in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 61.516.1).
Other comparable nephrite kovshes by Fabergé of this size are housed in important museums and royal collections around the world and were commissioned for imperial presentation. A kovsh of similar size with the cypher of Nicholas II on the handle, which was presented by the tsar to the French Ambassador to Russia in 1906, is part of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs collection in Paris (inv. 2599). Another large nephrite kovsh with the handle in the rococo style is in the Fabergé Collection of His Late Majesty King Chulalongkorn of Thailand (see Exhibition Catalogue, The Faberge Collection of His Late Majesty King Chulalongkorn of Thailand, Bangkok, 1983, p. 104). One more comparable kovsh with a double-headed eagle on the handle, which is believed to be an imperial presentation gift, is in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland (inv. 57.1076).