The outstanding legacy of the Russian goldsmith and jeweler Carl Faberge has captured the public's imagination for many years. During his lifetime, Faberge's exquisitely made jewelry and fantastically extravagant objets d'art brought him patronage from the world's most affluent people, including royalty - and throughout this century his work has been avidly collected. Faberge in America is the first book dedicated to the works that have been amassed by American collectors. More than just an assembly of objects and names, it places the social history of American collecting against the backdrop of the nation's ongoing fascination with imperial Russia. Spanning almost a century of collecting, the book combines biographical accounts of the most important American Faberge clients and collectors with exceptional photographs of the treasures. Following a brief background history of the House of Faberge, the first section of the book is devoted to the period before World War I and the objects acquired by Americans in St. Petersburg and London during Faberge's lifetime. The second part covers the years between 1930 and 1950 when, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, members of the royal family and Russian aristocrats brought Faberge treasures to America. It was during this period that the first great American collections were formed, including those of Matilda Geddings Gray, India Early Minshall, Lillian Thomas Pratt, and Marjorie Merriweather Post. A final section looks at the collections formed between 1950 and the present day, with particular emphasis on Malcolm S. Forbes, who built up what is undoubtedly the biggest and most impressive Faberge collection in the world. Published to accompany a traveling exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and commemorating the 150th anniversary of the jeweler's birth, Faberge in America provides both a spectacular survey of some of the most beautiful and intriguing objects ever created and an unrivaled history of art collecting in America.

Faberge in America

Arts & Photography

Von Habsburg, Geza

Geza Von Habsburg-Lothringen

David Parks Curry

Fabergé (Firm)

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Thames&Hudson

Outstanding among the world's artistic treasures are the works of Russian jeweler and goldsmith Carl Faberge (1846-1920). In this lavishly illustrated book - the most comprehensive study of Faberge and his innovative creations to date - his legacy is illuminated against the background of royal patronage and his role as Imperial Jeweler to the Russian Court. Faberge has long been associated with the Imperial Easter eggs produced for tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II, yet these represent only a fraction of his workshops' output. His firm's close association with the Russian Imperial Family led to the creation of stunning jewelry and official objects to commemorate Nicholas II's coronation in 1896, hundreds of presentation gifts offered to visiting heads of state and dignitaries, and scores of works produced to honor the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913. Faberge's fame was not confined to Russia; his works were acclaimed throughout Europe as well, particularly after his sparkling miniature replica of the Russian crown jewels - crafted from 4,000 diamonds - was shown at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. A unique aspect of this book is the inclusion of myriad personal items and objets de fantaisie created by Faberge for his royal clientele in Russia and Europe: tiny hardstone animals carved for England's Queen Alexandra, a pair of wine coolers made for the golden wedding anniversary of King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark, exquisite jeweled flowers in crystal vases, stunning picture frames, and elegant cigarette cases, among many other delights. At the turn of the last century, all facets of royal life in Europe - from births to weddings and anniversaries - merited unique gifts from Faberge. This important volume reproduces more than 350 objects and drawings from Faberge's workshops, many previously little known in the West and nearly half from Russian collections. Twelve leading scholars from the United States, Europe, and Russia have contributed new perspectives on the designer, providing insights into the House of Faberge's history and operations in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and London; the technical aspects of its production; and the newly discovered design books of Faberge's head workmaster Henrik Wigstrom. One consequence of the recent collapse of the former Soviet Union has been the opening of Russian archives to scholars. Long-lost documents relating to Faberge and his relationship with the Russian court have garnered a wealth of new information that is published here for the first time. Included are the memoirs of Franz Birbaum, Faberge's most ingenious designer, whose writings offer a personal glimpse into the daily operations of the legendary jewelry firm. Also found in these Russian archives are rarely seen photographs of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, and their relatives among European royal families. Faberge: Imperial Jeweler serves as the catalogue of a landmark exhibition held in 1993-94 at the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In the monumental exhibition, as in this superb book, the vast production of the House of Faberge is examined anew and the genius of Carl Faberge celebrated with wonder and admiration.

Faberge: Imperial Jeweler

Habsburg-Lothringen, Géza von

Lopato, Marina N.

Faberge Arts Foundation

gosudarstvennyi-ermitazh-russia

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

The exquisite objects created by goldsmith and jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé and his studio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the aristocracy and nobility of imperial Russia are considered to be some of the most refined examples of the jeweler's art of any age. Of greatest fascination are the extraordinary Easter eggs created as special commissions for the Russian imperial family and other notable patrons - works that remain unparalleled in their ingenuity of construction and sheer beauty. Accompanying a major exhibition Faberge Revealed represents a landmark for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and for Fabergé scholarship. The essays by Géza von Habsburg and other scholars present new findings on Fabergé, his workshops, and the creation of these extraordinary objects. For the first time all items by or attributed to Fabergé in VMFA's collection are documented along with the museum's significant holdings of other Russian decorative arts. Also included is a section on forgeries that bravely confronts this vexing question. Every object has been splendidly re-photographed for this book - and the detailed photography alone should provide inestimable value for future Fabergé scholarship. Richly illustrated with some 600 photographs, the volume documents an important collection bequeathed in 1947 to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts by Lillian Thomas Pratt, of Fredericksburg, Va., the wife of General Motors executive John Lee Pratt. Her collection, assembled between 1933 and 1946, comprised several hundred creations by the Faberge workshops and by other Russian imperial jewelers. These exquisite, marvelously crafted objects, range from the majestic jeweled imperial eggs to delicate jeweled flowers in vases to diamond-encrusted icons and tiaras, to animal figures nimbly carved from precious stone. Contents: Introduction by Géza von Habsburg Chapter 1: The House of Fabergé/by Géza von Habsburg Chapter 2: Behind the Scenes at Fabergé: The St. Petersburg Workshops/ by Ulla Tillander-Godenhieim Chapter 3: Fabergé and His Russian Competitors/ by Géza von Habsburg Chapter 4: Fabergé and His Foreign Competitors Chapter 5: Mrs. Pratt's Imperial Easter Eggs / by Carol Aiken Chapter 6: The Zarnitza Sailor and His Place in History / by Christel Ludewig McCaniess Chapter 7: Fabergé and Grand Duchess Vladimir / by Alexander von Solodkoff Chapter 8: Lillian Thomas Pratt and A La Vieille Russie: A Personal Relationship/ by Mark Schaffer Chapter 9: Fauxbergé / by Géza von Habsburg Catalogue: Fabergé/Other Makers/Forgeries

Faberge Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Skira/Rizzoli

A catalog of an exhibition records the complete Faberge original jewelry and art objects creations

Faberge (English and German Edition)

Forbes, Christopher

Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

Hypo-Kulturstiftung (Munich, Germany) Kunsthalle

History & Criticism

Rizzoli Intl Pubns

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