A Fabergé study of cornflower and oats, St Petersburg, circa 1910

the cornflower spray with three capitula, their florets enamelled in translucent royal blue over finely textured silver, each stigma with a collet-set circular-cut diamond encircled by stamens terminating in rose-cut diamonds, silver-gilt stem, the oat spray with pendant husks, resting at an angle in a carved rock crystal cylindrical pot, unmarked apart from scratched inventory number, possibly 12898

Donna Simonetta Colonna, Duchessa di Cesarò (1922-2011) was an international style icon and fashion designer, a pioneering figure in post-war Italian couture.  Brought up in an ancient noble family, as a student she was jailed by the Mussolini regime for anti-fascist activities.  She launched her first collection in Rome in 1946 and went on to design clothes for Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy among other celebrities; her designs featured in the films of Federico Fellini, including La Dolce Vita.  She sold her business in the early 1970s and moved to India, where she established a colony for the care of lepers, and later moved on to the Himalayas, where she studied Eastern spirituality and mysticism.  She was honoured with a retrospective exhibition of her work, Simonetta: The First Lady of Italian Fashion, at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, in 2008.

The origin of the duchessa’s interest in Russian culture was her own heritage; her maternal grandmother was Russian.  Her Collection offered here includes the group of early Russian silver (lots 463-467), and formerly included the Fabergé nephrite sleigh by Perchin which sold, Sotheby’s London, 20 November 2003, lot 109, with other Fabergé objects.

There are areas of restoration to the blue enamel florets with some colour variation, most noticeable at the central flowerhead. One pendant husk is a modern replacement. Otherwise in very good condition. For more details including images of the restoration in progress please contact the Russian Department.
"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."

This Fabergé flower study relates closely to three known examples, most closely that in the Royal Collection (RCIN 100010) purchased at Wartski by Queen Elizabeth, with a contribution from Queen Mary, in 1944.  It was kept in her shelter apartment at Buckingham Palace during the Blitz and described by her as ‘a charming object, and so beautifully unwarlike’ (see C. de Guitaut, Fabergé in the Royal Collection, London, 2003, no. 132, p. 115).  Another cornflower with oats, formerly in the Yusupov Collection and now in the Hermitage, is the largest of this group and striking for its abundance of oats (illustrated, M. Sezey, Fabergé Flowers, New York, 2004, p. 20).  Another example, from a prominent American collection, unusually with green-enamelled leaves, sold, Sotheby’s New York, 12 April 2011, lot 262.  Among these studies of cornflowers with oats, the present lot is the only example with three flowerheads.