A FABERGÉ CARNELIAN MODEL OF A ROOSTER, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1900

The collection of Mary, Lady Paget (1852-1919), thence by descent

The property of Mrs. R. L. Cameron: Christie's, London, 18 March 1975, lot 163, illustrated plate 19

The apparent Asian influence in the carving of this cockerel reflects Franz Birbaum's assertion that Fabergé's miniature hardstone animals were inspired by Chinese and Japanese gemstone carvings (F. Birbaum, The History of the House of Fabergé, St. Petersburg, 1992, p. 42). It is well known that Fabergé himself was an avid collector of Japanese netsuke, and the stylistic influences of netsuke are directly reflected in the present cockerel. 

In its use of carnelian and stylized Asian carving, this cockerel relates to other well-known examples by Fabergé, such as a goose (Géza von Habsburg, Fabergé Hofjuwelier der Zaren, Munich, 1986, p. 193) and two animals held in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow: a carnelian model of a fish and a carnelian fly-shaped toilet case (T. Muntian, The World of Fabergé, Moscow, 2000, p. 69, illustrated, nos. 33-34). Further related examples include a nephrite model of a dragonfly from The Woolf Family Collection (The Walters Art Museum, The Fabergé Menagerie, Baltimore, 2003, no. 116) and a bowenite model of a sparrow from the Collection of King George I of the Hellenes (see lot 324).

R. L. Cameron and Lady Paget

Rosaline Louise Paget (b.1931) was the daughter of Captain Arthur Wyndham Louis Paget and grand-daughter of General Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget and Mary Stevens. She married Clive Bremner Cameron on 16 April 1958. Her grandmother, Lady Paget (1853-1919), was one of the most important patrons of the London branch of Fabergé, continuously buying important pieces at the shop until its closure in 1916.

Born Mary 'Minnie' Fiske Stevens, Lady Paget was the daughter of a wealthy Boston hotelier. Upon her father's death, the family moved to England, where the Prince of Wales reciprocated their hospitality, entertaining Minnie and her mother at Sandringham and Marlborough House. In 1878 Minnie married Sir Arthur Henry Paget (1851-1928), a soldier, diplomat and grandson of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey. Lady Paget hosted parties and dinners at their home, organised numerous charitable exhibitions which were well attended by her Anglo-American contemporaries. She also helped to organise the first public display of Fabergé's works in Britain in 1904. Other important objects from her collection included a large purpurine box, purchased from Fabergé's London branch on 30 November 1915 for £130, see Christie's London, 3 June 2013, lot 221.