Heritage Auctions – Imperial Faberge & Russian Works Of Art
Signature Auction May 13th
View All Lots and Bid at HA.com/8216
Inquiries: 877-HERITAGE (437-4824) Nick Nicholson | ext. 3014
NickN@HA.com

DALLAS, TEXAS — On May 13, Heritage Auctions will present its third Imperial Fabergé and Russian Works of Art Signature Auction, a showcase illuminating Russia’s imperial and artistic legacy. Anchored by the Fabergé Heritage Collection and enriched by imperial artifacts linked to the Romanovs and their circle, a historic Fabergé punch set by Feodor Rückert, clocks and watches and porcelain, this auction is comprehensive yet select. Drawn from prestigious private collections in the United States, the sale features almost 100 works by Fabergé alongside masterpieces by Khlebnikov, Ovchinnikov and Bolin, offering collectors a rare chance to acquire works of unparalleled craftsmanship.

The Fabergé Heritage Collection, comprising 60 works, is the spring auction’s cornerstone. Assembled nearly two decades ago as an archival reference for the revived Fabergé firm, with guidance from the Fabergé Heritage Council, this collection spans every object type made by the Fabergé firm before the Revolution: jewels, hardstone carvings, silver, miniature Easter eggs, objets de luxe and objets de vertu.

Highlights include a two-color gold-mounted agate bonbonnière linked to Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, its translucent stone offset by two-color gold mounts in the Louis XVI taste; a gem- and coin-set translucent green enameled gilt silver miniature Bratina tied to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna wrapped in vibrant grass-green enamel juxtaposed with cabochon gems; and a diamond-set opaque enameled gold-mounted Siberian amethyst brooch, which was acquired by the imperial cabinet for Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Its deep purple Siberian amethyst is framed in opaque enamel and diamond brilliants. Other standouts include a diamond-set and gold-mounted miniature frame traced to Alexandra von Pistohlkors in rare golden-yellow guilloché enamel and a carved rhodonite figure of a seated elephant with its vibrant pink stone polished to a soft sheen.

A rediscovered masterpiece takes center stage: an important Fabergé punch set by Feodor Rückert is a Pan-Slavic service for 12 preserved in its original velvet-lined box. Seized by the Bolsheviks in 1918, this unique work from Fabergé Moscow was recently identified through rigorous scholarship. Its gilt silver cups, tray and ladle, adorned with cloisonné enamel in reds, blues and greens, blend “Old Russian” motifs with an Art Nouveau flourish.

Imperial artifacts linked to the Romanovs and their circle add historical depth. A Fabergé guilloché enameled gold desk clock in the Rothschild racing colors was ordered by Baron Eugène de Rothschild from Fabergé London and is documented in Fabergé’s ledgers. It is joined by a Fabergé silver-mounted bowenite table clock in translucent green stone with classical swags in chased silver and a Fabergé oyster-white enameled gilt silver table clock with Tatischeff family provenance that glows with serene elegance and was spirited out of Russia at the time of the revolution. Here also is a rare Fabergé enameled gold presentation fob with original pocket watch by Moser et Cie; the fob, with its Faberge jetons awarded to a member of the noble Blavatsky family over many years, tells an intriguing social history.

Porcelain distinguishes the sale as well, with three never-before-auctioned works at the forefront. A rare and important pair of Alexander I period vases from the Imperial Porcelain Factory, circa 1820, stands 18 inches tall with reticulation and gilding with burnt umber ground decorated with fountains and roiling Hippocamps. The pair was likely commissioned for Alexander I’s Naval Admiralty.

An Art Nouveau vase by the Imperial Porcelain Factory from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s collection at Tsarskoe Selo is decorated with pastel irises and is an rare example of the French Art Nouveau style in Russia. An early Soviet Agitprop Platter designed by S.G. Vengerovskaya at the State Porcelain Factory, Leningrad, circa 1924, depicts a red-starred worker in bold geometric fields.

The auction draws from private collections, complementing Fabergé with other Russian masters. A Khlebnikov Pan-Slavic cloisonné enameled gilt silver cigarette case, circa 1910, is undoubtably by the hand of Feodor Rückert, with the marks likely overstruck with those of the famed Moscow firm of Khlebnikov who commissioned and retailed from and by Rückert for many years. A pair of circa-1900 Ovchinnikov gem-set and cloisonné enameled gilt silver vases are of an unusual design, which owes a greater visual debt to the Aesthetic period than to any Russian revival form. And a Bolin silver-mounted Gallé marquetry glass vase Orchidées, circa 1905, and signed Gallé, is from Gallé’s series of glass “marquetry” vases, which explored variations of orchid designs. A number of important works by Gallé are known to have been mounted by Fabergé and other makers such as Bolin, but this may be among the largest and most ambitious of Bolin’s mounted pieces.

Heritage Auctions is at 2801 West Airport Freeway. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.