Lilies of the Valley Basket
Cat. no. 59
Workmaster: August Hollming? (1854-1913)
St. Petersburg, 1896
Gold, silver, nephrite, pearls, diamonds
New Orleans Museum of Art: Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Loan

Presented to Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896, on the occasion of her visit to the Pan-Russian Artistic and Manufacturing Exhibition at Nizhny Novgorod, this tour-de-force became the czarina's favorite object from the Fabergé Workshops. It stood on her desk until the 1917 revolution. Although worked in precious materials, the basket is filled with humble spring flowers common in Northern European forests.

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