Live Auction 12022Russian Art
A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ AND EN PLEIN ENAMEL GOLD BROOCH IN THE FORM OF A LADYBIRD
Lot 210 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION

A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ AND EN PLEIN ENAMEL GOLD BROOCH IN THE FORM OF A LADYBIRD

BY FABERGÉ, WITH THE WORKMASTER'S MARK OF MICHAEL PERCHIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1899-1903, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER PARTIALLY VISIBLE, POSSIBLY 65746

Closed5 June 2017

Price Realised

GBP 32,500

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A JEWELLED GUILLOCHÉ AND EN PLEIN ENAMEL GOLD BROOCH IN THE FORM OF A LADYBIRD
BY FABERGÉ, WITH THE WORKMASTER'S MARK OF MICHAEL PERCHIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1899-1903, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER PARTIALLY VISIBLE, POSSIBLY 65746
Hemispherical, the wings enamelled in translucent red over reeded guilloché ground, opaque black body and head, with white and black details, with rose-cut diamond-set bands, the gold underside realistically modelled with six legs, marked on pin and loop; in the original silk and velvet-lined wood case stamped 'Fabergé St Petersburg Moscow' beneath the Imperial warrant
7/8 in. (2.3 cm.) long

The Property of a Lady; Christie's, London, 7 July 2000, lot 280.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

A number of Fabergé's workmasters created designs inspired by ladybirds in the form of brooches, boxes and pendants. The ladybird has significant symbolic meaning, often believed to bring good luck and blessing to the household.

The design was also popular with Fabergé’s clientele in Britain. Around seven ladybird brooches are recorded as sold through the London branch of Fabergé.

For a box formed as a ladybird, also by Michael Perchin, in The Cleveland Museum of Art, see G. von Habsburg, Fabergé in America, New York, 1996, p. 112, no. 94. A comparable brooch shaped as a ladybird by Henrik Wigström was sold Christie's, Geneva, 17 May 1994, lot 259.