Fabergé Friday

For me, one thing that says summer has come to Sweden is when the swallows have arrived. This haven't happened yet. But while we're waiting, here is a swallow from Fabergé! It was commissioned by King Edward VII in 1907, as part of the Sandringham Commission.

This very life-like little bird is carved from obsidian and white quartzite. It has eyes of rose-cut diamonds, and feet made of gold. The size of the swallow is 1'' x 2.5'' x 0.6'' (2.5 x 6.4 x 1.6 cm), and it is part of the Royal Collection.

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Fabergé Friday

We still don't have any snow here in Stockholm, but I suspect it will get colder soon, and the water will start to freeze into ice. So with that in mind, here is today's Fabergé object - a seal on a piece of ice floe! It was created around the year 1900!

The little seal is carved from a piece of obsidian, which perfectly captures the wet sheen of the animal's body. The ice floe it is lying on is a piece of rock crystal. The dimensions of the piece are 2.5'' x 4.8'' x 3.1'' (6.4 x 12.3 x 7.8 cm), and it is part of the Royal Collection.

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Fabergé Friday

I like crows. They're clever birds. And here is one made in Fabergé's workshop, by workmaster Henrik Wigström, around the year 1907!

The crow is made of carved kalgan jasper and obsidian, with silver gilt legs and aquamarine eyes, to create the most realistic effect as possible.

With it's measurements of 3.1'' x 6.2'' x 2.2'' (7.8 x 15.7 x 5.7 cm) the bird is a bit bigger than most other Fabergé miniature animals. It was bought by Queen Alexandra in 1914, and now has it's place in the Royal Collection.

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Fabergé Friday

As I've said before, Fabergé made many, many little animal miniatures out of precious materials, and here is one more of those -  a parrot on a perch! Made by workmaster Mikhail Perkhin 1903!

This little parrot is carved from agate, and has eyes of rose-cut diamonds. It is resting on a perch of gold, decorated with white enamel and diamonds. It's dimensions is 5.7'' x 2.8'' x 2.4'' (14.5 x 7.2 x 6.2 cm).

The bird was bought by King Edward VII in 1907. His wife Queen Alexandra was very fond of parrots, and several photos from her days show that she kept several birds, in both cages and on perches, in her dressing room. Now this Fabergé parrot is perching in the Royal Collection though.

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Fabergé Friday

One sort of item that became very popular coming from Fabergé's workshops were miniature hardstone animals. In 1907 King Edward VII and his consort, Queen Alexandra, even commissioned Fabergé to create miniature carvings of all the animals on their country estate at Sandringham in Norfolk - both domestic and wild! Many other animals than those belonging to the king were created too, and today I will show you a little cat!

The cat is carved from one piece of cream colored chalcedony. With it's arched back, raised tail and open mouth it feels like the angry kitty could start hissing at you any time!

The cat is 1.6'' (4 cm) high, and it's eyes are set with cabochon rubies. 

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Fabergé Friday

There aren't so many Imperial Easter Eggs left now. But we still have a few! Like number fifty-three for example: the "Steel Military Egg", from 1916!

This egg is made of steel, around which sits gold decorations in the form of the Russian double-headed eagle, Tsarina Alexandra's monogram, and an image of George the Conqueror. The egg is resting on the points of four miniature artillery shells, which - in their turn - stands on a base of nephrite. The whole piece is also topped with a gold crown.

The simple look of this egg is - yet again - caused by the ongoing WWI. All Fabergé's craftsmen were out fighting in the war, which led to the closing of his workshops. Gold and silver was not allowed to be used by jewelers, who instead turned to steel, brass and copper. In a time like this it was also bad for the Imperial family to publicly be seen ordering expensive things.

The surprise inside the egg is a miniature painting, made by Vassily Zuiev. Painted on ivory is a depiction of Tsar Nicholas II and his son, consulting with officers at the front. The miniature is surrounded by a frame of gold and white enamel, held up by a small easel. 

The "Steel Military Egg" is one of ten Imperial Easter Eggs that was never sold, and can now be found in the Kremlin armory.