- 352
A Fabergé Diamond-Set Gold, Enamel, and Striated Agate Small Box, Workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, 1899-1903
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- with workmaster's initials, Fabergé in Cyrillic, and 56 standard, also with scratched inventory number 5800. Contained in a fitted leather box.
- Agate, gold, diamonds, enamel
- Height 1 1/4 in.
- 3.2 cm
octagonal with tapering sides, the hinged lid with rim enameled translucent lime green over a guilloché ground, with diamond-set ribbon ties, the sides applied with delicately chased laurel swags suspended from collet-set diamonds
Provenance
with Wartski, London
Anonymous
Sotheby's Geneva, November 16, 1999, lot 185
Anonymous
Sotheby's Geneva, November 16, 1999, lot 185
Condition
overall good condition
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
This box is inspired by similarly shaped gold-mounted hardstone boxes produced in England during the mid-18th century. Perchin used this form on other occasions, possibly as a means to show a rare or unusually figured hardstone to its best advantage. The Hermitage has a more austere example in agate that had once belonged to the Musin-Pushkin family, see Karl Faberzhe i master kamnereznogo dela, Moscow, 2011, no. 84, p. 110. For two other examples, see Sotheby's London, November 20, 2003, lot 106 and Sotheby's Geneva, May 16, 1991, lot 208. There are several examples of similar octagonal boxes made by Fabergé with scratched inventory numbers that are just one or two numbers away from that scratched in the interior of the gold mount on the offered lot. It is possible that this box was also purchased by a member of the Imperial family and that the invoice has not yet been located. We are grateful to Svetlana Chestnykh for assistance in cataloging this lot.