Fabergé

Faberge has become synonymous with the last days of the Russian Royal family.

In 1882, the 24 year old Peter Carl Faberge inherited the family jewellery firm from his father Gustav. With his brother, Agathon, Carl Faberge quickly revolutionised his father’s business into an international sensation that produced some of the world’s most exceptional curiosities and jewels.

Faberge’s Easter Eggs

Tsar Alexander III saw Faberge’s jewels in the 1882 Pan-Russian Exhibition, Moscow. He ordered the pieces to be displayed in the Hermitage as exemplary works of contemporary Russian craftsmanship.

Thanks to the importance of Easter in the Eastern Orthodox calendar easter eggs were a popular commission for the Russian Royal jeweller. The first Imperial Faberge egg was created for Tsar Alexander III to present to is wife Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1885. The egg was a sensational success and as thanks Faberge received the title ‘Goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’. Faberge’s Easter eggs then became an annual feature of the Royal families festivities. Faberge excelled ever inventive designs with cleverly hidden surprises concealed within the eggs golden exterior.

By 1900 Faberge’s fame was spreading beyond Russia. Faberge entered the Exposition Internationale Universelle (World Exhibition) in Paris, and although Faberge exhibited hors concours (not competing), the firm was awarded a gold medal.

Artist Jeweller

It is clear from an interview given aged 68, that Carl Faberge was proud of his status as an ‘artist-jeweller’:

“Clearly if you compare my things with those of such firms as Tiffany, Boucheron and Cartier, of course you will find that the value of theirs is greater than of mine. As far s they are concerned, it is possible to find a necklace in sock for one and a half million roubles. But of course these people are merchants and not artist-jewellers. Expensive things interest me little if the value is merely in so many diamonds or pearls.” ‘Stoliza y Usadba’ (Town and Country), 15th January 1914.

Equal in opulence and imagination, Carl Faberge’s creations tested the boundaries between high and low materials: setting diamonds into carved hard stones was a favourite combination. Faberge’s use of enamel was also extraordinary.

Faberge’s popularity has continued to grow: in 1977 the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, held a Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Faberge objects (see Terence Mullaly essay on the event).