Royal Collectors of Faberge

THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Principal royal collectors of Fabergé Queen Victoria (1819-1901) Although not known for her interest in the work of Fabergé, Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to purchase pieces by the Russian goldsmith and jeweller. Her accounts list two payments to the Fabergé firm for presents of ‘brooches, etc.’ purchased in 1895 and 1897, and in July 1898 for jewellery. Her collection included a red and oyster guilloché enamel visitor’s book, given to her by Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896. The Queen used the notebook to record the signatures of foreign royalty at her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 1897. King Edward VII (1841-1910) and Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) Queen Alexandra was introduced to Fabergé’s work by her sister Maria Feodorovna, consort of Tsar Alexander III of Russia. She is undoubtedly the most significant influence in the history of the formation of the royal collection of Fabergé. A large proportion of the collection was formed by the exchange of gifts between the Russian, Danish and English royal families, particularly during the reign of King Edward VII and his consort, when familial links between the Russian and English royal families were particularly strong. Queen Alexandra made frequent visits to the London branch of Fabergé, usually timed to coincide with the arrival of new stock from the workshops in Russia, which she often insisted on viewing before anyone else. The Queen’s accounts reveal that between 1902 and 1914 a total of £3,197 was spent at the branch. Many of the objects acquired were given away as gifts rather than kept by her, and the majority of her purchases were made at Easter and Christmas. Queen Alexandra’s passion for Fabergé’s work influenced many in her circle, not least the majority of the crowned heads of Europe, many of whom became collectors themselves. Her greatest influence was over King Edward VII, who equalled the Queen in enthusiasm for Fabergé’s work. Queen Alexandra’s pieces of Fabergé were intended to charm and delight, and they were carefully arranged in display cabinets at Sandringham. The King acquired more practical objects, such as the cigarette cases he regularly used. In 1907 the King placed the only documented British royal commission with Carl Fabergé, ordering a series of models of the royal couple’s favourite horses and dogs kept at Sandringham, a number of which were given as a birthday present for Queen Alexandra. Today the Royal Collection contains the largest surviving group of Fabergé animal sculptures in existence. Following the Christmas of 1901 Queen Alexandra wrote to Tsar Nicholas II; ‘I was so touched by you always remembering me every year. I have got such a beautiful collection of Fabergé animals now, the envy and admiration of everybody who sees them.’ King George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953) King George V acquired many pieces of Fabergé when Prince of Wales and later as King. He was particularly enamoured of Fabergé’s animal sculptures and bought many of those commissioned by his father from the London branch, also adding desk accessories, cigarette cases and frames to the collection. As Duke of York, he visited Fabergé’s St Petersburg headquarters with his father in 1894, while attending the funeral of Tsar Alexander III and the marriage of Tsar Nicholas II and Princess Alix of Hesse. During this time he also visited the Baron Stieglitz School in St Petersburg, where many of Fabergé’s designers and craftsmen were trained. While Queen Alexandra’s collection was formed largely through gifts, Queen Mary purchased many pieces of Fabergé and may be regarded as the first serious collector of Fabergé’s work in the British royal family. Henry Bainbridge, a manager at the London branch, described Queen Mary as ‘the greatest surviving connoisseur of Fabergé’s craftsmanship’ – she was instrumental in influencing a whole generation of collectors who sought to acquire pieces of imperial provenance. The Queen acquired a large number of pieces for the Royal Collection, including bell pushes, animals and flowers, and cigarette cases and snuff boxes which she gave to the King. She also received many gifts from the Imperial Family, and from her friends, many of whom were noted Fabergé collectors. As a renowned collector of objets d’art , Queen Mary kept fastidious records of all the pieces she acquired. In addition to her collecting, Queen Mary stimulated interest in the subject of Fabergé by attending sale views and exhibitions, and by paying regular visits to West End dealers. The Queen also lent pieces of Fabergé to exhibitions, including one in Belgrave Square in 1935, and Grosvenor House in 1948. In the 1930s King George V and Queen Mary made a particularly notable acquisition, when they purchased the three Imperial Easter Eggs now in the Royal Collection. Following the closure of Fabergé in 1917, the royal couple continued to buy works from a number of sources, in particular from the dealer Wartski. The firm of Wartski had been established in London in 1911 by Emanuel Snowman, one of the first Western dealers to bring works by Fabergé out of Russia after the Revolution. King George VI (1896-1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002) Queen Mary’s successor as a true collector and connoisseur of Fabergé was her daughter-in- law, Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI. Queen Elizabeth’s Fabergé collection, like most things she acquired, was intensely personal. It was also diverse, ranging from flowers, animals and bibelots, to superb examples of imperial presentation boxes and traditional Russian kovshes (drinking bowls). She began to form her collection in the early 1940s, primarily through purchases from Wartski and Spink. Her collection was for the most part displayed in an elegant cabinet on the first-floor corridor at Clarence House, although she also used many pieces. Queen Elizabeth was a generous lender to exhibitions, and pieces from her collection have been lent widely over the last 60 years. King George VI inherited and regularly used the collection of Fabergé cigarette cases created by his father and grandfather, to which further examples were added during his reign. He also purchased a number of pieces as gifts for Queen Elizabeth. In 1948 the royal couple received Henry Bainbridge at Buckingham Palace and gave the former London-branch manager access to their collection for inclusion in his book on Fabergé, published in 1949. According to Bainbridge, the King discussed the principles of displaying Fabergé objects to their best advantage, demonstrating a knowledge and appreciation for the subject perhaps inherited from Queen Mary. Her Majesty The Queen (b.1926) and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (b.1921) The Royal Family’s interest in Fabergé has been continued by Queen Elizabeth II and in the present reign, Her Majesty The Queen has made the royal Fabergé collection significantly more accessible to the general public, whether through exhibitions held at The Queen’s Galleries or through loans to exhibitions all over the world. A number of pieces have been added to the collection including a rock crystal inkwell given by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden on the occasion of the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in November 1947. Many members of the family of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were owners of works by Fabergé and a number of these pieces are now in the royal Fabergé collection. HRH The Prince of Wales (b.1948) As Chairman of the Royal Collection Trust, the charity responsible for the care, conservation and access to the Royal Collection, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales supports the work of the Collection to bring the masterpieces by Fabergé to a wider audience, through exhibitions, publications, lectures and new media. In 2006 the Princess Irina Bagration-Mukhransky, whose husband Prince Teymuraz Bagration was descendant of Grand Duke Constantine, the second son of Tsar Nicholas I, made a bequest to The Prince of Wales for the Royal Collection of several important mementoes from her collection, including some pieces of Fabergé. .

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