Tag Archives: Faberge: A Brilliant Vision

Was Peter Carl Fabergé the ultimate craftsmen or the ultimate copycat?

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Every artist seeks inspiration, and this was certainly true for Carl Fabergé. After attending the Fabergé Symposium in January of this year and listening to his great-granddaughter, Tatiana Fabergé, speak, I was initially surprised by what she was showing us. However, once I considered the artist that was Fabergé, her presentation came into clear focus.

Tatiana presented various screen shots of objects found in Dresden, Germany, as well as work completed by Fabergé. What was so shocking, you might ask? It was the eerie similarities of older, famous items to renowned Fabergé pieces. These works of art, side by side, were almost identical. Although to be fair (or maybe a bit biased) the Fabergé pieces were just a little more beautiful.

My first shocking thought was that Fabergé might have made a job out of creating replicas. However, after continued study of the objects in the presentation, I began to see what was unique to Fabergé. It became evident that he did not steal designs; he was inspired by them and created something even more beautiful and, in some cases, more functional. Like any good artist, Fabergé sought inspiration outside of his own sphere, using what he found to create stunning, unique pieces.

Tatiana went on to explain that her great-grandfather had been sent around the world to study the best types of jewelry-making and goldsmithing. However, it was when his family moved to Dresden that Fabergé would find significant inspiration. The city had treasures of baroque art that could stir the imagination of a young artist. One piece Fabergé studied that is of interest to us in particular was a cup made of rhinoceros horn, held by an oriental figure. The Houston Museum of Natural Science, with gratitude to the McFerrin Collection, has the honor of displaying the object that was created from this inspiration.

Faberge's Dresden Inspiration

This particular statuette, a near replica, is made of nephrite and smoked topaz with pearls and small precious stones. It was shown in the 1893 Fabergé Moscow catalog and sold for 4,000 rubles, the same amount the Russian Royal Family paid for a single Imperial Easter Egg. It is uniquely Fabergé, yet German baroque art as well.

Faberge's Dresden Inspiration

Visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision to see this object among others that Fabergé sought to create in his own style.

Making the common uncommonly beautiful: Fabergé takes on the bell-push

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Editor’s note: This blog comes to us from Fabergé historian and guest curator Timothy Adams. Adams has 30 years of experience in the jewelry industry and was a guest scholar for the “Fabergé: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars” exhibition at The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, Calif., which also featured pieces from the McFerrin Collection.

The turn of the century brought many new inventions to the lifestyles of those who prospered from the industrial revolution of the late 19th Century. With the advent of electricity came the electric light, the telephone and one of my favorite items: the bell push.

Many people wonder what a bell push is when they see a case of them in the HMNS exhibition Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision. A bell push was another convenience of the Edwardian age that Fabergé set his imaginative mind to designing.

The stately homes of the aristocracy and wealthy merchant class were often staffed with many servants. For centuries, when one needed to call for a servant, one walked over to the wall and used the “bell pull.” This was a long piece of fabric, often with a beautiful tapestry design with a tassel, that was attached to a cable that ran inside the wall down to the servants quarters “downstairs” and rang a bell when pulled.

With the invention of electricity, a simple button attached to an electrical wire could set off a buzzer and/or electric light downstairs, letting the servants know which room needed their assistance.

The McFerrins have collected some beautiful examples of Fabergé bell pushes made of many different materials and gemstones. No two items from Fabergé were ever exactly alike. These are wonderful examples of his enamel work and use of hardstones like nephrite and bowenite, as well as wood.

Fabergé liked to use cabochon-cut gemstones for the actual button or “thumb push.” The bell pushes seen here are round, square and triangular and come in a variety of styles from neoclassical to art nouveau.

"Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision" Exhibit, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas 2013.02.10Image via Pixel Party attendee and Flickr user fossilmike

One of the most unique is the three-elephant bell push believed to be purchased by Nicholas II for his mother. It has three elephants with castles on their backs, which is the symbol of the Danish Royal House, and the Dowager Empress was born in Denmark. There is an invoice dated December 24, 1898 that shows the Emperor purchasing a bell push with three elephants. This bell push had to be for a large, important house to have not just one or two buttons, but three. Each thumb push, or button, is a different color cabochon-cut stone. As each stone is pressed, the elephant and carpet it stands on lowers to activate the bell push.

Fabergé makes the common uncommonly beautiful. Read more about his intricate bell pushes on the Beyond Bones blogA whimsical design for a utilitarian object is one of the hallmarks of the House of Fabergé.  With unlimited imagination, Fabergé made the common place extraordinary.

An interview with Caroline de Guitaut, Royal Curator, pretty talker and bona fide Fabergé expert

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Caroline de Guitaut is many things. Her curator post at The Royal Collection Trust in London — where she oversees the Queen’s impressive Fabergé collection — is nothing to be sniffed at, but de Guitaut is perhaps first and foremost the organizer of Kate Middleton’s the Duchess of Cambridge’s bridal archive. Swoon.

We controlled our impulses to ask about all things Royal Wedding, however, to discuss our (very) special new exhibit, Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision, prior to de Guitaut’s Distinguished Lecture here at the Museum.

HMNS: So, what are your first impressions of the exhibit?

Caroline de Guitaut: It’s really interesting. It is an exciting thing, all formed over the last 10 years. The Royal Collection was formed primarily during Fabergé’s lifetime, while he was still producing. This collection is very modern. The Provenance is so good; it focuses on pieces with a lot of history.

Pixel Party: Fabergé!

HMNS: How would you term the House of Fabergé’s historical importance, particularly to England?

CDG: The Royal Collection can only now be seen, with modern eyes, as a museum collection. When it was formed, the objects were exchanged as gifts — fashionable, whimsical luxury items. It was only post-revolution, really, that the objects have acquired this mythical sort of importance. So many pieces are superbly personal — hand-inscribed tokens of affection.

HMNS: Do you have a favorite piece or a particular item/type of item that you find yourself coming back to again and again?

CDG: I like the more simple objects. The animals are charming, whimsical and fun. They demonstrate the whole range of hardstone carving. There is one particular object — a cigarette case in deep blue enamel. It’s so sumptuous and rich. A snake in fold and diamonds winds around both sides biting its own tail — the symbol of everlasting love. It was a present from Edward VII’s mistress to the king. It is in the art nouveau style with the concealed hinges that are a signature of Faberge, and when the King died in 1910, his wife gifted it back to his mistress as a token. The mistress, Alice Keppel, gave it to Queen Mary in 1936 and it returned to the Collection.

Visit Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision to see more objects of exquisite beauty and learn their (often romantic) stories. This special exhibition closes Dec. 31, 2013.

Find out if you’re a Fabergénius here: This time with answers

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Are you an expert in enameling? An authority on artistry? Find out the answers to our quiz below and then learn more with a visit to our Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision exhibit!

Faberge egg

1. What “surprise” was inside the Imperial Egg created by Fabergé?
a. Hen
b. Elephant
c. Clock pendant
d. Picture frame

2. Carl Fabergé was:
a. French
b. German
c. Russian (his ethnicity is Danish/French, but Carl Fabergé was born in Russia.)
d. British

3. Fabergé sold his items through:
a. Retail stores in Russia
b. Retail store in London
c. By mail order
d. All of the above

4. Where did Fabergé prefer to obtain his raw materials for his pieces?
a. China
b. France
c. Russia
d. South America

5. What do we call a Fabergé sold to deceive the buyer?
a. Fake
b. Fauxberge
c. Counterfeit
d. Phony

6. How many items did the Fabergé Company produce?
a. 150,000 (approximately)
b. Less than 1,000
c. 10,000
d. Approximately 1,000,000

7. Which of the following items did Fabergé make?
a. Obsidian Sea Lion
b. Gherkin (pickle) sent jar
c. Gum pot
d. All the above (all on display in our exhibit)

8. What does the “Bonbonniére” mean?
a. Egg
b. Cigarette Holder
c. Candy Box
d. Scent Bottle

9. Which of the following techniques were used by Fabergé?
a. Cloisonné
b. Enameling
c. Guilloché
d. All of the above

10. Who of the follow did NOT produce items for the Fabergé Company?
a. Workmasters
b. Contracted Artists
c. Women
d. Cartier

11. Fabergé’s Flower Studies were important to Russians because…
a. It reminded them of their childhood
b. Russia was a major exporter of lilies
c. It reminded them of the spring to come
d. It had important herbal qualities

12. Which of the following did Fabergé NOT produce items for?
a. The Imperial (Romanov) Family
b. The Russian Military during World War I
c. The Forbes Family (The Forbes family acquired Fabergé pieces several years after the house of Fabergé closed.)
d. The Nobel Family

13. Which modern toy represents Fabergé’s guilloché technique?
a. Etch-a-Sketch®
b. Lite Brite®
c. Spirograph ®
d. None of the above

14. On which holiday were the Imperial Eggs given to the Tsarina?
a. Christmas
b. Birthday
c. Thanksgiving
d. Easter

15. Which of the following did Fabergé produce?
a. Circus Hippo
b. Swinging Parrot
c. Sea Lion on a Rock
d. All of the above (and all on display in our exhibit)

16. What does a Vesta Case hold?
a. Cigarettes
b. Matches
c. Headache tablets
d. Bullets

17. What was the purpose of the bell push?
a. To ring for a servant
b. To light the furnace
c. To announce your presence
d. None of the above

18. Which famous movie star is in one of the Fabergé picture frames at HMNS?
a. Lucille Ball
b. Michael Jackson
c. Bill Gates
d. Liz Taylor (on display in our exhibit) 

19. Which of the follow Fabergé items could be found in an office?
a. Ruler
b. Pencil holder
c. Stamp holder
d. All of the above (all in our exhibit) 

20. Which of the following precious gems were used by Fabergé?
a. Diamonds
b. Sapphires
c. Rubies
d. All of the above

Are you a Fabergenius? Tell us how you did!