The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Begging Poodle

Begging Poodle

c. 1895–1915
(Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg
agate, rubies
Overall: 6.4 x 2.6 x 2.3 cm (2 1/2 x 1 x 7/8 in.)
The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.448
Location: 211 Fabergé

Did You Know?

Small sculptural figures of animals date back to ancient cultures that prized them both for sustenance and mythical godliness.

Description

In creating luxurious accessories for a desk or tabletop, the House of Fabergé often used native hardstones such as multicolored agate and jasper, green nephrite, pink rhodonite, and rock crystal found in the Ural Mountains of western Russia. By paying careful attention to the unique colors and textures of the stones, Fabergé and his craftsmen brought them to life, turning milky agate into this figure of a begging poodle or brown and black jasper into sleeping puppies. The use of native materials also promoted Russian nationalism, which appealed greatly to the tsar and his family.
  • ?-1966
    India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hawley, Henry H. Fabergé and His Contemporaries: The India Early Minshall Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 66-7, cat. 29. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 108, cat. 86. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Fabergé, Peter Carl, and Deborah E. Horowitz. The Fabergé Menagerie. London: Philip Wilson Pub, 2003. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 124, cat. 58. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • Fabergé's Menagerie: The Animal Creations of the Fabergé Workshop. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (February 14-July 27, 2003); Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (October 12, 2003-January 4, 2004); Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (February 8-May 2, 2004).
    Fabergé in America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (February 12-May 5, 1996); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (organizer) (May 25-July 28, 1996); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (August 24-November 2, 1996); New Orleans Museum of Art (December 7, 1996-February 8, 1997); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-May 11, 1997).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
    The India Early Minshall Collection: Faberge and his Contemporaries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 1967-January 21, 1968).
  • {{cite web|title=Begging Poodle|url=false|author=House of Fabergé|year=c. 1895–1915|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.448