PROBABLY BY FABERGÉ, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1888

Details

A RARE AND IMPORTANT ENAMELED GOLD COMMEMORATIVE PENDANT
PROBABLY BY FABERGÉ, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1888
Oval, the front enameled en plein with the icon of the Mandylion [Spas Nerukotvorennyi], the reverse engraved with the crowned cyphers of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna and the Russian inscription 'In memory of [our] salvation', all within a blue enamel border, the lower edge engraved in Russian '[To] Dear Xenia', with suspension ring and loop, indistinctly marked on loop
1½ in. (3.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960).
Prince Nikita Alexandrovich (1900-1974).
Prince Alexander Nikitich (1929-2002).

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Lot Essay

In October 1888, Emperor Alexander III and family were aboard the imperial train en route from Sevastopol to Moscow. The train was travelling too fast and derailed near the town of Borki. None of the imperial family was hurt, but twenty-two passengers were killed and thirty-five injured. The fact that the imperial family escaped unscathed was attributed to the Emperor's great strength, which allowed him to prevent the coach from crushing its occupants, and was regarded by the empress as a miraculous escape. To commemorate the event, the emperor and empress commissioned these gold medallions, each of which was given to members of the entourage. The present lot is notable for the fact that it was the personal medallion of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the eldest daughter of the emperor and empress. An important heirloom, it has descended in the family of the grand duchess to the present day.

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