Empress Maria Feodorovna: An Imperial Fabergé Feodor Rückert Cloisonné and En Plein Enameled Gilt Silver Box Fabergé, Workmaster Feodor Rückert, Moscow, 1908-1917, with scratched inventory number 18014, and later scratched inscription 0-3/4 x 2 x 1-3/4 inches (1.9 x 5.1 x 4.4 cm) 70 grams (gross) PROVENANCE: Acquired by the Imperial Cabinet for gift purposes December 11, 1909, returned to Fabergé stock in 1911; Grand Duke George Mikhailovich; Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna; Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna; Prince Vasili Alexandrovich, sold April 1949; Thelma D. Zane, thence by descent; Private Collection, California. EXHIBITED: Fabergé in America, 1996-1997, catalogue no. 19. LITERATURE: Geza von Habsburg (ed.), Fabergé in America, Thames & Hudson / Museum of Fine Arts San Francisco: New York, 1996, illus. p.45. The offered lot is the work of master enameller Feodor Rückert, who was the exclusive supplier to Fabergé of "Russian" enamels of this type from his Moscow workshop from about 1887 until the revolution. While St. Petersburg clients kept "a constant and careful eye on classical styles", Muscovite clients and foreign visitors to Moscow sought the elaborate enamel work in what the Russian call the "stil' modern" or Slavic-influenced Art Nouveau style of the period. Works such as the offered lot were often composed with surrounds and sides in the neo-Russian taste, centering an impeccable "en plein" enamel reduction of a painting by Makovsky, Vereshchagin, Repin, or other Russian contemporary painters. Boxes came in many sizes from large caskets (shkatulki) to coffered trinket boxes with latches (lartsy), to smaller boxes in a variety of shapes for a variety of purposes (korobuchki), and finally, the smallest type identified, that of a "bonbonnière" (bonbonyer'ka). The box is distinctive for several reasons. One is its unusually small size, which means that the central image is not simply a reduction of a famous work, but a masterpiece of the miniature artist's skill. The image is a well-known view in St. Petersburg, a vista of "The Bronze Horseman", Falconet's sculpture of Emperor Peter I Alexeievich "the Great" of 1782 on Senate Square. The original image was likely sourced from an engraving after a work by Andrei Efimovich Martynov (Russian, 1768-1826). The use of a St. Petersburg subject renders this small box an anomaly as both a "Russian" enamel with a "Western" subject. Research in Russian archives has revealed that after its creation in Moscow, the box was acquired by the Imperial Cabinet for distribution as gifts in 1909, but that as the piece was not disbursed, it was returned to Fabergé and placed back into the firm's stock in 1911. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia visited the St. Petersburg shop and acquired the box at a cost of 100 rubles, presenting it as a gift to the Dowager Empress. The box also bears a roughly scratched inscription to the underside reading in Russian "From Mama, 1921" [or perhaps, 1928] indicating that the box was either given to Grand Duchess Xenia by the Dowager Empress in 1921, or that it was inherited by the Grand Duchess on the Dowager Empress' death in 1928. Zane family records indicate that the piece was already with Prince Vasili in California by 1949, when it was purchased by Thelma Zane as part of a larger group of objects. Heritage Auctions thanks Valentin Skurlov for his assistance with the research of this lot. Property of a California Family HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Recently given a conservation cleaning, revealing original gilded surface.

The bonbonniere in overall exceptional visual condition, with light wear and rubbing to original gilding to underside of base, consistent with age and use. One slight area of scratching (approx. 2mm) to enamel at edge of lid, approximately 8 o’clock to lid. No visible signs of repair to the naked eye.

Under UV light examination, no evidence of any repair, and in original condition.

The underside with rectangular mark of Feodor Rückert over struck with Faberge Mark with Imperial Warrant, round kokoshnik mark for small article, and right facing kokoshnik mark for St. Petersburg with 88 zolotniki standard, and with scratched inventory number 18014. In raking light, scratched inscription in Russian: "Ot’ Mamy / 1921 (8?)" in Cyrillic.
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