Russian mysteries of Faberge

Date: 16.05.2005 Source: Magazin "Antiq.info" Author: Georgy Kasyan

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Many people are interested in hidden treasures. New goods under ╚Faberge╩ trademark continue to appear at various auctions. Abroad, they speak about ╚Faberge culture╩ and Russian experts are afraid of forgery. We are trying to figure out how many masterpieces may be hidden in secret places.

Мodel of Tsar regalia [zoom (81k)]

Based in Petersburg in 1842 by Karl Gustavovich Faberge, the firm had been rather ordinary until the Russian Emperor Alexander III applied to it with a request to manufacture a present for the Empress. She desired to have an Easter egg, which would combine qualities of jewelry, would be made of first rate gold, would be covered by white enamel and could be opened by the owner▓s request representing an unusual miniature scene. Inside the jewelry ╚shell╩, in a gold semi-sphere, the jewelers inserted a hen, which was so meticulously made that it was possible to distinguish not only its red crest but every feather as well. Another more unusual surprise was related to the hen. She hid a Ruby egg and Emperor▓s Crown inside herself.

Certainly, a funny trifle, which provided great pleasure to the Imperial couple, was not the only one. The firm began to manufacture such rarities for jubilee Christian holidays.

In 1882, at an inter-Russian exhibition, Moscow, K. Faberge received a gold medal for his works and eight years later, at an international exhibition, Paris, he was granted the order of Honorary Legion and Grand-Prix. Such high rewards brought the firm an order to manufacture copies of Tsar regalia, which should be tenfold diminished. These wonderful Imperial symbols were stuck to a piece of pink eagle which imitated a column. In its turn, the column was surrounded by silver chased wreath of laurel leaves. The composition included the big Emperor▓s Crown (I. Pozier), the small Emperor▓s Crown (the Duval brothers), Orb (Ekert) and Scepter. In the Scepter, Faberge jewelers inserted a diamond, which imitated the famous diamond titled ╚Orlov╩ of the real Scepter. This wonderful jewelry copy of regalia was acquired in 1890 by Nicolay II and passed for storage to the Hermitage where it complemented an already vast collection of jewelry and precious subjects, which belonged to tsar family.

Nephritis hippopatamus. The feet are made of gold [zoom (42k)]

The firm expanded its operation at the expense of Hustaf Faberge▓s sons ≈ Karl and Agafon ≈ who paid special attention to artistic orientation of the works. The following masters took part in their manufacturing process ≈ Michail Perhin, Henrih Vigstrem, Vasiliy Zuev, Augustus Holstrem. From 1885 to 1917 they made 54 eggs without a single repetition. Among them, there was a ╚Coronary egg╩, 1897, inside of which Perhin and Vigstrem inserted a miniature coach and decorated the surface with ornament of laurel leaves and two-headed eagles. The coach struck with a whole number of truly details ≈ ladders, seats, platinum revolving wheels and a crown above the roof. In honor of two hundreds▓ anniversary of Petersburg foundation, they manufactured a ╚Peter the Great╩ egg whose surface was decorated by small diamonds and rubies, and four ivory miniatures depicted portraits of Peter I, Nicolay II, views of the Winter Palace and Peter the Great▓s house.

Among works manufactured by the firm there were more prosaic but not less luxurious Easter eggs ≈ ╚Snowdrops╩ with flowers made of precious stones, ╚Lilies of the Valley╩ with buds made of pearls and golden leaves, ╚Mosaic╩ with rich ornaments gathered by a skillful hand into a band-frieze. Apart from 50 Easter eggs manufactured for the Romanovs, there were other subjects. One of them was acquired by Nobel, another one belonged to an American duchess Marlboro, the third one was in possession of an aristocrat Usupov. An Irkutsk merchant woman, gold producer Barbara Basanova used to own seven Faberge eggs.

Unfortunately, vast majority of the unique works was exported from Russia after 1917 and sold out at European and American auctions at worthless prices. Some of the pieces came to the Hammers brothers, values sellers, into Alexander Sheffer▓s collection and, having passed through their ownership, settled down in collections of the English Queen Elizabeth II▓s and of an American Malkolm Forbs, and in Hilwood Museum, Hollywood. It was at that time when energetic American businessmen, the Hammer brothers, spread a gossip around America that a firm with a French name worked for the Imperial court and, consequently, the values have an exclusive nature. At auctions, they were advertised solely as ╚imperial Faberge╩ and, hence, prices for them sharply increased. Jeweler Gueze fon Habsburg▓s collection came into possession of a perfume bottle, which was a part of a complete series of refined and precious bottles.

In 1989, Sotheby▓s auction represented a ╚Gold chair styled after Louis XV╩, which, judging by descriptions, was confiscated from the Moscow office of the firm by Chekists (security officers). Beginning from 1989, Faberge goods have regularly appeared at auctions which testifies both incessant export of the firm▓s jewelry from Russia and existence of still untouched hiding-places in Moscow and St. Petersburg which are assessable by values sellers.

Parfume bottle. Enameled gold stopper [zoom (51k)]

T. Belousova, who analyzed a list of Faberge▓s jewelry, thinks that from 1993 to 1996, in Europe, 30 subjects were sold. All of them had been either stolen from State Storage at different times or had been deliberately transferred to realisation to a notorious company ╚Golden ADA╩, which used to provide credit to postreconstruction Russia. Anyway, after the Americans had sequestrated the property of ╚Golden ADA╩ company they found a Faberge egg. It is noteworthy that all 10 pieces, which preserved after nationalization of the Armoury, had been already known. The fact that after the confiscation of 1918, only five eggs were considered missed, the revelation of such jewelry miracle in an venturesome ╚Golden ADA╩ company may testify either disclosure of some of the Faberge hiding-places or concealment and selling out of a part of the subjects confiscated in 1918√1919.

An auction of 1995 represented a cigarette case made of two-colored gold with a sapphire fastening, which used to be a part of the luggage stolen from Norwegian Embassy in 1918. It means the possibility of emergence of other very rare jewelry products, which had been manufactured by Faberge partnership and had been stolen at the said period. It seems that they are now waiting for their time to come.

It is necessary to remember that in a shop at the partnership firm, located in Bolshaya Morskaya, 24, there was one of the safest armored safes, which used to contain jewelry for the sum exceeding several million golden rubles. In 1918, Karl Faberge leased his house to Swiss Legation and mister Odier, the ambassador, settled down above the shop. He took upon the obligation to preserve the jeweler▓s property as he enjoyed special protection according to a Soviet Government Decree. On the following day, Faberge▓s luggage was stolen out of the place. The robbers took away earrings, brooches, necklaces, chains and rings made of gold and platinum. Certainly, apart from finished goods, there were precious stones in the jeweler▓s suitcases ≈ diamonds, emeralds, rubies, aquamarines. A list of values, which has been kept by the family, indicates the sum of 1 603 614 golden rubles. After the robbery in the Norwegian Embassy Chekists examined and confiscated everything out of the house in Bolshaya Morskaya having left only those things that were kept in a safe-elevator, which they did not manage to open.

However, it was known that a representative of the third generation of the jewelers ≈ Eugene Faberge ≈ in 1927 had compiled a list ╚Where our things are hidden╩ which did not only testify considerable sums in gold left by the jewelers in Russia but also some quantity of jewelry works, which had not been found so far. In the list, there were mentioned 30 places where precious subjects had been kept.

Paradoxically, prices for the firm▓s goods were most frequently discussed in the USA, not in Russia. According to V.M. Teteryatnikov, an expert on applied art who has been exploring Russian auctions for 30 years, ╚Faberge cult╩ was created by the advertisements of Hammer brothers. Teteryatnikov examined a notorious Christy▓s egg bought in Geneva by a rich Iranian for 400 thousand dollars and a world-class subject, an egg from New York, which cost 176 000. The expert estimates differently Malkolm Forbs▓ collection, who used to chase the ╚imperial Faberge╩. He pays tribute to these subjects while criticizing the others. Explaining his sepsis, V.M. Teteryatnikov assesses ╚Faberge▓s market╩ as follows, ╚In New York, in famous 47 Street, almost every jeweler with ambitions keeps a complete necessary set of ╚Faberge▓s trade-marks╩ in a drawer╩. Hammers had been working without a break and several decades later after the death of the Russian master the amount of his products did not decrease but increase.

For instance, splendid imitations of Faberge goods made of real gold and precious stones are legally manufactured in Greece and sold under the names of Greek masters. About twenty years ago, an American company launched into the market exact imitations of the famous Faberge ╚stone flowers╩ in crystal glasses. The imitations echoed the original style so much that nowadays they are often presented at auctions as ╚original Faberge╩. Finishing his sarcastic speech about American tastes for Russian art, Teteryatnikov indicates the greatest drawback of American market, ╚Review of the market shows that in the West there are no real scientific data concerning attributions of Faberge works. All experts are self-educated, without any professional degrees┘╩.

The weird thing is that such severe critics was stated in 1993 on the pages of The World of Museum (╚Мир музея╩) ≈ a magazine famous for its conservatism.