.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The mosaic design of this incredibly delicate and rare brooch is one of the most imaginative and recognisable designs produced by Fabergé. The same technique was used for the Imperial Mosaic Egg presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna in 1914, now part of the Royal Collection.
The Mosaic Egg was designed by Alma Pihl (1888-1976) and executed by her uncle Albert Holmström. Alma was largely self-taught. Her mother Fanny Holmström was the daughter of Fabergé’s workmaster, August Holmström, and her father Oscar Pihl was head of Fabergé’s jewellery workshop in Moscow. In 1908, at the age of twenty, Alma started to work for her uncle Albert Holmström, rendering life-size designs in watercolour to provide archival records of what the workshop was creating. In her spare time, Pihl sketched designs of her own. Her ingenious ideas were quickly noticed and soon her work became part of Fabergé’s stock book, including her famous mosaic and snowflake designs.
An original design for a comparable brooch by Alma Pihl dated 24 July 1913 is preserved in the Holmström archive (see K. Snowman, Fabergé: Lost and Found, London, 1993, pp. 142-143). Purportedly, Alma Pihl was inspired to produce this motif when she watched her mother-in-law do needlework by the fireside. This technique required the most skillful jewellers, as each miniature stone had to be calibré-cut in such a way that it would perfectly fit into the square holes of the platinum mesh, which was also cut by hand. The shimmering stones imitate an embroidered fabric with a brightly-coloured Russian floral motif.
This brooch is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most important jewellery pieces by Fabergé to appear on the market. It is the only example of the iconic mosaic design known to exist, apart from the Imperial Mosaic Egg.
The Mosaic Egg was designed by Alma Pihl (1888-1976) and executed by her uncle Albert Holmström. Alma was largely self-taught. Her mother Fanny Holmström was the daughter of Fabergé’s workmaster, August Holmström, and her father Oscar Pihl was head of Fabergé’s jewellery workshop in Moscow. In 1908, at the age of twenty, Alma started to work for her uncle Albert Holmström, rendering life-size designs in watercolour to provide archival records of what the workshop was creating. In her spare time, Pihl sketched designs of her own. Her ingenious ideas were quickly noticed and soon her work became part of Fabergé’s stock book, including her famous mosaic and snowflake designs.
An original design for a comparable brooch by Alma Pihl dated 24 July 1913 is preserved in the Holmström archive (see K. Snowman, Fabergé: Lost and Found, London, 1993, pp. 142-143). Purportedly, Alma Pihl was inspired to produce this motif when she watched her mother-in-law do needlework by the fireside. This technique required the most skillful jewellers, as each miniature stone had to be calibré-cut in such a way that it would perfectly fit into the square holes of the platinum mesh, which was also cut by hand. The shimmering stones imitate an embroidered fabric with a brightly-coloured Russian floral motif.
This brooch is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most important jewellery pieces by Fabergé to appear on the market. It is the only example of the iconic mosaic design known to exist, apart from the Imperial Mosaic Egg.