A Fabergé gold, diamond and guilloché enamel locket, St. Petersburg, 1899-1908

quatrefoil form with red translucent enamel over a sunray engine-turned ground within a rose-cut diamond border centred with a circular-cut diamond, with scratched inventory number 1201, held in original Fabergé fitted case 

Baroness Meyendorff, nee Stella Whishaw (b.1884)
Thence by descent

Some surface sratches to the enamel consistent with age and use. Sold with a modern chain.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The owner of this brooch, Stella, Baroness Meyendorff, led an extraordinarily varied and accomplished life. She was educated in Russia where she met and married her husband Paul, and briefly fulfilled the role of army wife. Paul was Aide de Camp to Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II, head of the Russian Cross Society, and as Colonel served with the Tsar in World War Two. Following the abdication of the Tsar, Meyendorff returned to his duties in St. Petersburg but was arrested after the fall of the Provisional Government. Stella's three children were sent to the country with a relative; shortly after Stella was also imprisoned.  The account of her escape from prison and Russia are documented in her autobiography: Through Terror to Freedom.  She lived and worked on the Continent singing, acting and making good use of her aptitude for languages, she spoke six fluently. She succeeded in making a mark on the English stage and in films her most remembered parts were in The Prisoner of Zenda, and The Wandering Jew.