A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK
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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK

BY FABERGÉ, WORKMASTER HENRIK WIGSTRÖM, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 23245

Details
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND SILVER-GILT DESK CLOCK
BY FABERGÉ, WORKMASTER HENRIK WIGSTRÖM, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 23245
Rectangular, the central panel enamelled in translucent scarlet red over a wavy guilloché ground, centring a white enamel dial with Arabic chapters within a seed-pearl bezel, the outer panel enamelled in translucent apple green over a moiré guilloché ground, all within a silver-gilt laurel-chased rim with rosettes at corners, the ribbon crest at the top suspending ribbon-tied laurel swags, the ivorine back with a silver scroll strut, the back-plate with hand-set, marked on rim, back and strut with ‘Fabergé’ in Cyrillic and workmaster’s initials
5 7⁄8 in. (14.9 cm.) high
Provenance
Property of a Scandinavian Collector.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, London, 8 June 2011, lot 507.

Brought to you by

Thomas Williams
Thomas Williams International Head of English Furniture & Clocks

Lot Essay

In addition to Fabergé’s impeccable craftsmanship and wit, his genius also lay in his ability to create works of art that would be used in everyday life. Fabergé’s objects of function included desk clocks, cigarette cases, scent bottles, frames, bell-pushes, cigarette lighters and cane handles – to name but a few. They were designed for convenient use on the writing table or to be carried on the person, and were not intended as museum pieces.

The production of practical objects began in the 1880s. The head workmasters of Fabergé transformed everything from clocks to cane handles into imaginative works of art. It was this trademark ability to enhance everyday objects through the application of sophisticated enamelling techniques, goldsmithing and stone-setting that made Fabergé internationally famous.

Fabergé’s items of function were in huge demand among his contemporaries who wanted to surround themselves with elegant and useful objects. The firm’s craftsmen had to make practical items attractive without being bulky and inconvenient.

The present desk clock is a wonderful testimony to how Fabergé managed to turn the production of utilitarian objects into an art form. His ingenious designs and techniques transform seemingly mundane objects into the most desirable works of art.

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