A Fabergé Jewelled Gold-Mounted Nephrite and Pearl Lily-of-the-Valley Tray, Workmaster Henrik Wigström, St Petersburg, 1903-1904
Auction Closed
December 18, 08:20 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
delicately formed as a cluster of leaves, accented by sprigs of lily-of-the-valley mounted in gold and set with pearls terminating in rose-cut diamonds, with original fitted case, marked on mount with workmaster's initials, scratched inventory number 70832
2 ¾ x 2 ½ in.
6.9 cm x 6.3 cm
With A La Vielle Russie, New York
New York, A La Vielle Russie, Inc., Faberge, A Loan Exhibition for the benefit of The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, April 22 – May 21, 1983, no.283, p.90
Exhibition catalogue, Faberge, A Loan Exhibition for the benefit of The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, A La Vielle Russie, Inc., 1983, p.90, no.283
Lily of the valley was widely considered the preferred flower of Empress Maria Feodorovna. Records show that on 22 March 1914, Empress Maria Feodorovna acquired a Fabergé study of the blossom for 275 roubles (V. Skurlov, “In Search of Fabergé Flowers in Russia,” in Marilyn Pfeiffer Swezey, Fabergé Flowers, New York, 2004, pp. 108, 111, 113).
A number of Fabergé examples of lily of the valley studies survive today, including an example in the Royal Collection of Fabergé—formerly belonging to Princess Victoria and Queen Alexandra—and another in the India Early Minshall Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art (see here).
Part of the flower’s lasting charm lies in its rich symbolism. Long associated with bridal celebrations, lily of the valley is also cherished as one of the first flowers to signal the return of spring, appearing just as winter begins to fade.