- 603
A Fabergé jewelled gold and enamel miniature frame, workmaster Victor Aarne, St Petersburg, 1899-1904
Description
- Gold, enamel, mother of pearl, diamond
- height: 5.4cm, 2 1/8 in.
Provenance
Alexandra Pistohlkors (1888-1968)
Thence by descent
Catalogue Note
Alexandra Pistohlkors enjoyed close connections with the Imperial Court. Her father, Alexander Taneyev, served as Chief Steward to His Majesty's Chancellery in addition to being a noted composer. Her sister, Anna Vyrubova, was lady-in-waiting and close confidante of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Alexandra's husband, Alexander Erikovich Pistohlkors, was the stepson of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was godmother to the Pistohlkors' eldest daughter, Tatiana, born in 1910.
Alexandra, knicknamed 'Sana', was among the cluster of society ladies who flocked admiringly around Grigori Rasputin. She cabled him in 1913, "I am very sick. I implore you to help. Sana." Alexandra's husband was among the few men who formed part of this group, the starets often visiting the couple at their home. They fled to Finland with their three daughters in 1916, before Rasputin's murder at the end of that year.