Premier American Collector	Viktor Vekselberg Link of Times Collection

Collectors - An Almanach de Fabergé

Henry Charles Bainbridge (1873/74 – 1954), manager of the London Fabergé branch, in his autobiography shares his efforts to know his clientele – royalty or commoner – and how to give them special service in selecting Fabergé objects made in St. Petersburg, Russia:

And worse still, one had to know who had arrived. Almost an impossibility, you say. Yes, it was almost, but not quite. I got over the difficulty to a large extent by keeping a sort of Almanach de Fabergé and against each name, I put photograph if I could get one, and any other useful information I managed to collect, such as their particular like and dislikes, whether they preferred yachts to steam engines, the names of their friends, when they travelled and where they were likely to stay. It helped me enormously. (Twice Seven, 1933, 161)

This modern-day Fabergé almanac includes those who have gone before and those who still appreciate the art of Fabergé and share their passion of collecting.

Fascinating stories about Fabergé collectors beginning with Tsars Alexander III and his consort Marie Fedorovna and Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna, can be gleaned from these reference tools:

Selected Fabergé Bibliography (1930 to the present).

Multi-lingual web page maintained by Annemiek Wintraecken includes snapshots of major Fabergé egg collectors and their eggs.

McCanless, Christel Ludewig. Fabergé and His Works: An Annotated Bibliography of the First Century of His Art, 1994. Art history reference book of 1772 comprehensive journal citations arranged chronologically with annotations in English.

Lowes, Will and Christel Ludewig McCanless. Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia, 2001. Monograph gives comprehensive information about 66 Fabergé eggs divided into four categories - Tsar Imperial, Imperial, Kelch and Other. Technical descriptions, all known public exhibitions and auctions through 1997, and reference citations (books, journals, newspapers, and miscellaneous sources) covering the literature of nine countries are given for each egg. Who's Who in the House of Fabergé profiles 500 artisans and companies who worked for or with Fabergé.

von Habsburg, Géza, et al. Fabergé in America, 1996. Details the history of the House of Fabergé in Russia and the legacy of the Tsars, and is followed by the histories of five major American collectors: Matilda Geddings Gray, India Early Minshall, Lillian Thomas Pratt, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Malcolm S. Forbes. Appendix II shows American acquisitions at Fabergé’s London shop (1907-1917).

de Guitaut, Caroline. Fabergé in the Royal Collection, 2003. Catalog raisonné of the British Royal Collection. The British, Danish, and Russian royal families had close personal ties and often exchanged Fabergé gifts before the October 1917 Revolution.

Authentic Fabergé, Fauxbergé ... What Is It? This essay gives several important guidelines before becoming a collector.

Legend:

Dates in parentheses are links to the Fabergé Newsletters.

(GvH #) Biographical data published in Habsburg, Géza von, et al. Fabergé in America (1997), Appendix II: Acquisitions By Americans at Fabergé’s London Shop, 1907-1917, pp. 339-355. The entries in the monograph are supplemented with the name of the object, brief description, inventory number, and cost.

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Alexei Alexandrovich, Grand Duke (Fall 09)

Astor (IV), Mrs. J.J.
Ava Lowle Willing (1869 – 1958) of Philadelphia married John Jacob Astor IV (1864 – 1912) in 1891. She was active in New York and London society and entertained Edward VII and members of the British nobility in her country house and in Mayfair. In 1910 she divorced Astor, who two years later died in the sinking of the Titanic. In 1919 she married Lord Ribblesdale (d. 1925). The mother of William Vincent Astor (1891 – 1959) and Ava Alice Astor (1902 – 1956), she was noted for her beauty and ability as a sportswoman. (GvH 340)


Astor (V), Capt. J.J., and Mrs.
John Jacob Astor V, Baron Astor of Hever (1886 – 1971), was born in New York. He was the son of First Viscount William Waldorf Astor (1848 – 1919) and Mary Dahlgren Paul of Philadelphia (1853 – 94) and the younger brother of Waldorf Astor. The Astor’s established residence in England in 1890. He is listed in the Fabergé Sales Ledgers as living at St. James Square, London, in 1916; also the year of his marriage to Lady Violet Mary Elliot Mercer Nairne, daughter of the Earl of Minto and widow of a fellow officer, Major Lord Charles Mercer Nairne. Astor was brought up as an Englishman and with his brother attended Eton and Oxford. He was wounded in World War I, was chairman of The Times (London) for many years and served as a member of Parliament. The wife of John Jacob Astor V is listed in the sales ledgers as Mrs. J.J. Astor and also as Lady Violet Astor. (GvH 340)


Astor, Waldorf
Second Viscount Waldorf Astor (1879 – 1952) was the eldest son of First Viscount William Waldorf Astor (1848 – 1919) and his Philadelphia-born wife Mary Dahlgren Paul (1853 – 94). Astor was born in New York, but by 1890 his family had settled in England. In 1906 he married Nancy Langhorne Shaw, an American divorcée. The couple entertained Edward VII and his mistress Mrs. Alice Keppel, at Clivenden in Buckinghamshire, the country estate given to them by his father. From 1910 to 1918 Astor was a member of Parliament for Plymouth, and on the death of his father he became a peer. In the 1930’s Clivenden was the gathering place of the pacifist and pro-Hitler “Clivenden Set”. (GvH 340-1)


Astor, Mrs. W. (Waldorf)
Nancy Witcher Langhorne (1879 – 1964) of Virginia married Robert Gould Shaw in 1897. She divorced Shaw in 1903 and moved to England. In 1906 she married Waldorf Astor, heir to the $110 million Astor fortune. John Singer Sargent’s 1907 portrait is well known, as are the images of her sister, Irene, the model for the Gibson Girl. Known for her energy and sharp tongue, Lady Astor had an international reputation as a hostess and as the first woman to serve in the House of Commons (1920 – 45), where she championed the rights of women and children. (GvH 341)

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Daniel Bibb, lender of Fabergé silver and other art objects to the New Orleans Museum of Art, is also an icon enthusiast. On his website he has a slide show of the recent Windows of Heaven exhibition at the museum. (Winter 09)

The late David A. Braver, an avid collector of Fabergé frames, has left his collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Winter 09)

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Chen (Sinclair & Raye Heather) Russian Collection (Fall 08)

D

Dr. George Dean, a family physician, and his wife Vivian, are avid collectors of chess sets. Among their treasures is a Fabergé set shown in the 2003 Art of Chess venue at the Gilbert Collection in London, and it was the feature selection in the “Ultimate Gifts Guide” of The Robb Report, December 2004.

Provenance: The chess set was commissioned as a gift to the recipient during the ill-fated invasion of Manchuria in 1904, and is inscribed, "To warmly beloved and dear Commander General Adjutant Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin in memory of Manchuria 1904-05 from those devoted and grateful to him."

Dr. Dean enjoys telling about the purchase of this set from the late A. Kenneth Snowman in 1977. It seems the set had just been placed in a display case at Wartski, the adverts were ready to appear in two distinguished art journals (Apollo and Connoisseur, December 1977, ad pages 105 and 11, respectively) ... and to this day the Fabergé set has been the pride and joy of these two collectors, along with a multitude of tearsheets from the two journals. Dr. Dean states that much to his dismay unauthorized reproductions made in Paris are on the market for $25,000. (03.08)

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George I of the Hellenes, King (01.07)

Gibbes, Charles Sydney (1876-1963), English language teacher from October 1908. Gibbes, an Englishman, who during his ten years with the Imperial family became very fond of his pupils, also followed the family into exile. Returning to Great Britain in 1937, he was established as perhaps the first English 0rthodox Abbot - he took the name Father Nicholas in honor of the former Tsar- in a parish in London. A chapel known as Saint Nicholas House in London (now part of the Wernher Collection in Greenwich) contains several icons and mementos of the Imperial family which he brought from Ekaterinburg. Based on personal papers of Gibbes the book, A House of Special Purpose: An Intimate Portrait of the Last Days of the Russian Imperial Family (1975), was published twelve years after his death. (Spring 10 | Summer 10)

Gilliard, Pierre (1879-1962), French teacher from 1905. Gilliard, a Swiss academic, recorded his time with the Imperial family in the book Thirteen Years at the Russian Court. He followed the Imperial family into exile to Tobolsk, Siberia, but was not allowed to see his pupils after May 1918 when they were moved to Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg before their execution. In 1925, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, sister of Tsar Nicholas II, asked Gilliard to investigate the case of the American Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia. (Spring 10 | Summer 10)

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Dr. D. Lee Hodges, an enthusiastic Fabergé collector, and his family are lending over 100 pieces to the museum. Highlights with historical significance include the Bismarck Box given to the Chancellor of Germany in 1884, a photograph frame with a portrait of Nicholas II purchased from the St. Petersburg shop in 1906 by his mother, Marie Feodorovna, a Nobel brooch, and a serpent about to strike on a piece of Persian turquoise. More details: Arts Quarterly, October, November, December 2008, 1, 6-8.

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Fabergé brooch worn by Elton John, English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist, in the book by Bobby Miller, Fabulous: A Photographic Diary of Studio 54, 1998, is also shown as lot 139 from the Kazan sale at Christie's New York, April 15, 1997. (Courtesy: Roy Tomlin, 07.07) Further illustrated in Ghosn, Michel Y. Collection William Kazan: Objects de Vertu par Fabergé, 1996, 180, with a detailed provenance.

L

Kudos to classical concert guitarist Christian Thomas Lee, who shares his personal collection of fine art through the Arts in Schools program of the Mercy Foundation. His teaching collection of a silver-gilt enamel Fabergé teaspoon and a modern Rosebud Egg travels to poor inner city and rural schools in the United States where it is studied and enjoyed by children. “Waking up in a house full with beautiful things and sharing with children” is how he describes his passion. A provenance index accompanies his website. (03.08)

M

A Fabergé diamond tiara made in 1895 sold for £ 1.05 million to an anonymous buyer at Christie's in London on June 13, 2007. It was among £ 1.7 million of jewelry sold by Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, 67, the daughter of the last king of Italy, Umberto II. The tiara known as the Empress Josephine tiara contains a pear-shaped or teardrop diamond given by Tsar Alexander I to the Empress Josephine. Pre-sale estimate £ 390,000. The Times (London), June 5, 2007, 41 and The Times (London), June 14, 2007, 29. (06.07)

Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess (Summer 09 | Fall 09 | Winter 09-10)

The McFerrin Collection shown in its first venue during 2009-10 at the Houston (Texas) Museum of Natural Science includes the Empress Josephine Tiara, Nobel Ice Egg, fire screen frame and other outstanding objects. (Winter 09-10)

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“On June 21, 1904, the New York Stock Exchange was presented with a resplendent gift from the Imperial Russian Government: a stone and silver urn crafted by Carl Fabergé…” so begins the history of this approximately six foot tall gift on display in the Board Room of the NYSE. It is carved from red malachite, trimmed with silver and sits on a pedestal of green malachite. The urn was a token of appreciation from Tsar Nicholas II to this American financial institution “for its help in floating a $1 billion loan in 1902 to the Russian government, a large amount for its time”.

“Underwritten by a prestigious syndicate of investments banks including J. P. Morgan & Co., it was a dramatic indication of the growing importance of the New York financial markets … the bonds were finally suspended from trading on the NYSE in 1921."  (Courtesy of Susan Johnson, 01.07 | Winter 10-11)

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McCarthy, Kieran, "Fabergé and the Rothschilds" in The Rothschild Archive: Review of the Year, April 2004 to March 2005, 34-41.

The Russian art collection of the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, was bought privately by the Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov for reportedly more than the $20 - 40 million it was expected to fetch at auction. The Washington Post (9/20/07) states “he will turn over the entire purchase to the (Russian) state.” Included in the sale of 450 objects were a cut-glass decanter and punch bowl by Fabergé.

James C. Russo, a New Jersey native and former record-label promoter, ”has a new passion: helping educate needy children around the world, ... sparked by a 2006 visit to Thailand with his partner Tony Cointreau, of the Cointreau liqueur family”. His collection of royal artifacts, including an Imperial Russian Fabergé Alexander III Wedding Anniversary Desk Clock, is being offered at auction on April 24, 2008, to support his enthusiasm. Cantu, Hector. “Gentle Mission”, Heritage Magazine for the Intelligent Collector, No. 2, Winter 2008, cover, 55-57,70-72. (02.08)

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Snowman Collection (05.08)

The Cleveland Museum of Art has added a Fabergé cat, three goldfish in an original box, and an agate and gold cigarette case from the Howard and Cara Stirn Collection of European Decorative Arts.

T

Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland, Princess of Denmark (Fall 08)

W

One of the most spectacular objects with a flower theme designed by the original House of Fabergé is the cyclamen tiara currently owned by the Duke and Duchess of Westminster. (08.07)

 

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