Live Auction 5961Important Russian Art
A GOLD-MOUNTED DIAMOND AND SAPPHIRE IMPERIAL PRESENTATION BROOCH
Lot 218

A GOLD-MOUNTED DIAMOND AND SAPPHIRE IMPERIAL PRESENTATION BROOCH

BY FABERGÉ, WITH THE WORKMASTER'S MARK OF AUGUST HOLLMING, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1904, SCRATCHED CABINET NUMBER 1431

Closed26 November 2012

Price Realised

GBP 22,500

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A GOLD-MOUNTED DIAMOND AND SAPPHIRE IMPERIAL PRESENTATION BROOCH
BY FABERGÉ, WITH THE WORKMASTER'S MARK OF AUGUST HOLLMING, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1904, SCRATCHED CABINET NUMBER 1431
Lozenge-shaped, centring a diamond-set Imperial double-headed eagle, within a diamond border, flanked with two sapphires and a diamond at each corner, marked on mount and loop
1 5/8 in. (4.4 cm.) wide

Acquired by the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty from Fabergé St Petersburg branch in 1904 for 325 roubles (re-entered into the ledgers in 1905 at the increased cost of 500 roubles).
Presented to the widow of the naval officer Davydov in 1905.
Acquired by the family of the present owner in the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 20th century.

Specialist note

The Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty awarded a number of jewelled brooches decorated with the Imperial double-headed eagle during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II. The Fabergé workshops of Holmström, Hollming and Thieleman were the main suppliers of these pieces. The price of the present brooch places it in the same category as a similarly decorated brooch presented to a major-general's wife during the period. For more, see U. Tillander-Godenhielm, The Russian Imperial Award System during the Reign of Nicolas II, 1894-1917, Helsinki, 2005, p. 198.
We are grateful to Dr Valentin Skurlov for helping research the present lot.