- 19
A Fabergé gold, enamel and hardstone bowl, Moscow, 1899-1908
Description
- width: 8.8cm, 3 3/8 in.
Provenance
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Fabergé's Moscow branch opened in February 1887, the retail space at No. 4 Kuznetzki Most, the workshop at No. 4 Kiselnyi Lane. Originally under the management of Fabergé's partner, Henry Allan Bowe, the operation was eventually taken over by Fabergé's son, Alexander, until its closure in 1918.
The quality and surprising diversity of Fabergé's Moscow-produced objects went underappreciated for years, and there was scant information available on the workshop. The most thorough study thus far has been Anne Odom's "Fabergé: The Moscow Workshops" (G. von Habsburg and M. Lopato, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller, 1994, pp. 104-115) though there remains much that is unknown. H. C. Bainbridge writes very little about Moscow; he does note that the "workshops devoted to the making of objects of fantasy, and goldsmithery in general, were under the management of G[ustav] Jahr, a native of the Baltic" (Peter Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Russian Imperial Court, 1949, p. 131). According to Géza von Habsburg, it is likely that Jahr produced all the Moscow objets d'art (Fabergé: Imperial Craftsman and His World, 2000, p. 125), and thus a tentative attribution can be made to Jahr as the author of the present lot.
For other gold-mounted agate vessels produced in Moscow, see Sotheby's New York, 10 June 1981, lot 188; Christie's Geneva, 17 November 1981, lot 169; and Christie's Geneva, 10 May 1989, lot 59.