The 2011 special exhibition at Buckingham Palace is entitled Royal Fabergé and features over 100 masterpieces by Russian jeweller and goldsmith Carl Fabergé. The collection has been developed by six successive generations of the British Royal Family, and provides not just a fascinating insight into the work of Peter Carl Fabergé, but also attests to the strong ties between the Russian, Danish and British Royal Families.
Peter Carl Fabergé - Russian Jeweller and Goldsmith
Peter Carl Fabergé was born in St Petersburg in 1846. After completing apprenticeships in Paris, Florence and Frankfurt he took over the management of his father's firm in 1872. The company thrived with the opening of workshops in Moscow and St Petersburg.
The Imperial Family, together with the Danish and British Royal Families, were influential in the success of Fabergé. In 1885 Tsar Alexander III appointed Fabergé as Imperial Goldsmith and Jeweller. Later that year the Tsar commissioned the first Imperial Easter Egg as a gift for Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.
Six Generations of Fabergé Collectors
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has the world's finest collection of Fabergé built up by six successive generations of royal collectors. The collection includes spectacular Imperial Easter Eggs, intricately-crafted fragile flower ornaments, miniature tea sets and animal sculptures, cigarette cases, desk clocks and photo frames. Most of Fabergé's designs were unique and hand-crafted.
Fabergé's Royal Collectors
The first reigning British monarch to acquire a Fabergé piece was Queen Victoria (1819-1901) who purchased brooches and jewellery. In 1896 Tsar Nicholas II presented a notebook and case to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The notebook cover is decorated with silver-gilt and red and oyster enamel. In 1897 the notebook was signed by crowned heads of Europe attending the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace.
King Edward VII (1841-1910) and his Danish bride Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) were also avid collectors of Fabergé pieces. Alexandra was introduced to Fabergé's work by her sister Maria Feodorovna, consort of Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Edward and Alexandra frequently received gifts of Faberge from the Tsar and it is these exchanges that helped ensure Fabergé's success. Queen Alexandra's collection includes examples of almost every type of item produced by Fabergé, including flower studies, carved animals and a very fine a miniature tea set, comprising teapot, hot water pot, sugar bowl and milk jug.
Other important royal customers at Fabergé's London branch included George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953). They acquired numerous boxes and cigarette cases, miniature furniture, a clockwork elephant automaton and three Imperial Easter Eggs once owned by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna and confiscated during the Russian Revolution in 1917. In 1933 George V purchased the Mosaic Imperial Easter Egg, probably as a birthday present for Queen Mary. The Egg is one of Fabergé’s most technically sophisticated items. Materials used in its production include gold, platinum, enamel, rose and brilliant diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topaz, quartz, sapphires, garnets and moonstone fitted into a platinum mesh. The piece resembles embroidery on canvas. The five children of Nicholas II and Alexandra are portrayed on one side, and a basket of flowers features on the other.
King George VI (1896-1952) made good use of the cigarette cases inherited from his father and grandfather. During his reign he purchased several items for Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002) including several in the traditional Russian style.
The Royal Family continues to develop this spectacular collection. In 1947, on the occasion of her marriage to Philip Mountbatten (now The Duke of Edinburgh (b.1921), The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth, b.1926), received a rock crystal inkwell. The lid of the inkwell is enamelled in red with silver mounts and set with a Catherine the Great rouble dated 1722. The item was a gift from Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, once lady-in-waiting to Tsarina Alexandra.
The exhibition also showcases the collection of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales (b.1948), and includes pieces bequeathed, in 2006, by Princess Bagration-Mukhransky, wife of Prince Teymuraz Bagration, descendant of Grand Duke Constantine, and second son of Tsar Nicholas I.
Royal Fabergé will be on show from 23rd July to 3rd October 2011 and can be viewed as part of a tour of Buckingham Palace. Further information and tickets are available from The Royal Collection.
Sources:
- The Royal Collection at: royalcollection.org.uk
- Caroline de Guitaut, Fabergé in the Royal Collection, The Royal Collection (2003)
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
