BY FABERGÉ, WORKMASTER HENRIK WIGSTRÖM, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917

Details

A GOLD TABLE LIGHTER IN THE FORM OF A MINIATURE SAMOVAR
BY FABERGÉ, WORKMASTER HENRIK WIGSTRÖM, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917
Of traditional form, the square base rising to a spherical body, flanked by two scroll handles applied with wood, on four stud feet, the detachable teapot base enclosing a well for lighter fluid, the front engraved with inscription 'Palata - Buckhurst Park / Jubilé 9 Nov. 1933-37.', the back engraved with a Russian inscription 'Four cups of tea / 'Palata', marked on rim with 'Fabergé' in Cyrillic and workmaster's initials
3 1⁄2 in. (9 cm.) high

Provenance

Lady Lydia Deterding (1904-1980), wife of Sir Henry Deterding, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Geneva, 26 April 1978, lot 333.

Literature

A.K. Snowman, The Art of Carl Fabergé, London, 1962, pl. 103 (illustrated).
G. von Habsburg, Fabergé, Kunsthalle of the Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich, 1986, p. 110, no. 144 (illustrated).
Exhibition catalogue, Carl Fabergé. Kostbarkeiten Russischer Goldschmiedekunst der Jahrkunderwende, Zurich, 1989, no. 60 (listed).
Exhibition catalogue, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller, St Petersburg, 1993, p. 293, no. 163 (illustrated).
Exhibition catalogue, Fabergé - A Private Collection, Helsinki, 1997, p. 15, no. 11 (illustrated).
U. Tillander-Godenhielm et al., Golden Years of Fabergé: Drawings and Objects from the Wigström Workshop, Paris, 2000, p. 109 (illustrated).
G. von Habsburg, Fabergé: Imperial Craftsman and His World, London, 2000, p. 199, no. 450 (illustrated).
Exhibition catalogue, Carl Fabergé. A Private Collection, London, 2012, p. 17, no. 11 (illustrated).

Exhibited

Munich, Kunsthalle of the Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Fabergé, 5 December 1986 - 8 March 1987, no. 144.
New York, Habsburg, Feldman, The Josiane Woolf Fabergé Collection, 3 - 9 November 1988, no. 7.
Zurich, Museum Bellerive, Carl Fabergé. Kostbarkeiten Russischer Goldschmiedekunst der Jahrkunderwende, 31 May - September 1989, no. 60.
St Petersburg, Hermitage State Museum; Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs; London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller, June 1993 - April 1994, no. 163.
Lahti, Lahti Art Museum, Fabergé - A Private Collection, 14 March - 4 May 1997, no. 11.
New York, A La Vieille Russie; New Orleans; Golden Years of Fabergé. Drawings of the Wigström Workshop, 12 April - 19 May 2000.
Wilmington, Riverfront Arts Centre, Fabergé, Imperial Craftsman and his World, 14 August 2000 - 28 February 2001, no. 450.
London, Wartski, Carl Fabergé. A Private Collection, 15 - 25 May 2012, no. 11.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Lady Lydia Deterding (1904-1980), née Kudeiarov, was the daughter of General Paul Kudeiarov. In 1924, she married Sir Henri Deterding, general manager of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and chairman of Royal Dutch Shell. The couple's English country house was Buckhurst Park in Winkfield, Berkshire, where Mrs Deterding lived with her two daughters after her divorce in 1937.

Lady Deterding was well known in France as a benefactor of various famous causes, including the restoration of the Palace of Versailles, the Museum of the Legion d’Honneur and others. She also helped to repair the Russian cathedral in Paris and financed a Russian high school.

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