BY FABERGÉ, MOSCOW, 1899-1908, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 19876

Details

A GEM-SET AND SILVER-MOUNTED WOODEN TABLE BOX
BY FABERGÉ, MOSCOW, 1899-1908, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 19876
Rectangular, carved from palisander wood, the detachable lid surmounted by a handle carved as a stylised bird, mounted in silver and set with cabochon green hardstones, the base with a silver mount, chased with triangular motifs at corners, set with cabochon red and green hardstones at intervals, marked under base with ‘K. Fabergé’ in Cyrillic beneath the Imperial Warrant
6 in. (15.3 cm.) long

Provenance

Property from a Distinguished Private Collection; Sotheby's, New York, 16 April 2007, lot 80.

Literature

Exhibition catalogue, A La Vieille Russie, Fabergé, New York, 1983, p. 90, no. 110.
Exhibition catalogue, Carl Fabergé. A Private Collection, London, 2012, p. 105, no. 87 (illustrated).

Exhibited

New York, A La Vieille Russie, Fabergé, 22 April - 21 May 1983, no. 110.
London, Wartski, Carl Fabergé. A Private Collection, 15 - 25 May 2012, no. 87.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Margo Oganesian Head of Department, Fabergé and Russian Works of Art

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Lot Essay

This wooden box is a wonderful example of Fabergé's works in neo-Russian style. It is a simple but very elegant object, which revives Russian folklore and celebrates its past. The finely carved stylised bird on the cover of the box is reminiscent of a Firebird from the Russian fairy tales. The silver mounts and cabochon stones on the box cleverly imitate the patterns that could be found on medieval pieces.

Another wooden box with a very similar scratched number '19875' was purchased by Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in July 1906.

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