Live Auction 17188Important Russian Art
A RARE SILVER-MOUNTED SYCAMORE AND NEPHRITE TABLE
Lot 239 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION

A RARE SILVER-MOUNTED SYCAMORE AND NEPHRITE TABLE

MARKED FABERGÉ WITH IMPERIAL WARRANT, WITH THE MARK OF THE FIRST SILVER ARTEL, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 20458

Closed25 November 2019

Price Realised

GBP 175,000

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A RARE SILVER-MOUNTED SYCAMORE AND NEPHRITE TABLE
MARKED FABERGÉ WITH IMPERIAL WARRANT, WITH THE MARK OF THE FIRST SILVER ARTEL, ST PETERSBURG, 1908-1917, SCRATCHED INVENTORY NUMBER 20458
Circular, on four fluted legs, with silver reeded feet and acanthus-chased upper mounts, the stretcher with a cone-shaped finial and ribbon-tied reeded band, the circular frame of the table decorated with a frieze applied with rosettes, acanthus-chased reserves, and floral wreaths with ribbon-tied quiver and torch trophies, with fluted silver upper mount, supporting a nephrite top, marked throughout
26 in. (66 cm.) high, 25 in. (63.5 cm.) diameter

Anonymous sale; Christie's, Geneva, 27 April 1977, lot 479.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note


Full-size furniture by Fabergé is extremely rare to come to the market, and only a few examples have survived at all.

As mentioned in the provenance, when first sold at Christie's, Geneva in 1977, the present table was part of the furniture decorating the apartment of Carl Fabergé on Morskaya Street (above the shop). Deserted but still furnished after Carl Fabergé left St Petersburg in 1918, the apartment was eventually rented by a Danish diplomat who, following a valuation, took over the furniture, including the present lot.

Fabergé produced a very small number of tables and showcases. The Fabergé workshops manufactured large furniture either by creating pieces using unusual materials, such as nephrite and silver (see a silver-mounted nephrite gueridon, sold at Christies, New York, 19 October 2001, lot 139), or by enhancing previously made wooden furniture with silver mounts and hardstone tops. Another comparable silver-mounted wooden table was sold at Christie's, London, 25 November 2003, lot 82.