Collection Online as of July 3, 2022

Clock

1908-17

workmaster

Henrik Wigström

(Russian, 1862-1923)

maker

House of Fabergé

(Russian, 1842–1918)

Russia, St. Petersburg, early 20th Century

Nephrite, gold, enamel, diamonds

Overall: 7.9 x 3.4 x 2.5 cm (3 1/8 x 1 5/16 x 1 in.)

The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.475

Location

211 Fabergé

Fun Fact

The face of this small luxurious desk clock features tiny pink enameled roses in place of the customary numbers along with hour and minute hands paved in diamonds.

Description

The use of Russian hardstones in creating precious objects became a hallmark of design from the House of Fabergé. Easily carved, these minerals were sourced largely from the western region surrounding the Ural Mountains. Fabergé's workmasters used colorful stones such as agate, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, rhodonite, and nephrite (jade), seen here in this small desk clock, to create and embellish flower studies, animal figures, and all manner of luxurious accessories.

Inscriptions

Inscription

72, Kokoshnik, lower case alpha in script [assay mark for St. Petersburg, 1908-26]; 72; Fabergé; H.W. [initials of workmaster Henrik Wigström]; 22681 scratched; NS/15P scratched.

Inscription Remark

The use of Roman letters for the mark "Fabergé," rather than the usual Cyrillic characters, indicates that this clock was probably intended for sale outside Russia, perhaps through the London showroom.

Henrik Wigström

Workmaster for the House of Faberge based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Responsible for many of the imperial Easter eggs as well as enameled accessories and jewelry.

House of Fabergé

Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920) took over the House of Faberge in 1870 from his father Carl Gustav Faberge who had founded the firm in 1842. Until 1881, the firm manufactured primarily jewelry for Saint Petersburg's aristocrats and wealthy elite. In 1885 the firm was awarded the coveted imperial warrant as goldsmith to the tsar and began to produce elaborate presentation Easter eggs as a gift for the tsarina from her husband every year. They also produced luxurious accessories, jewelry, and hardstone sculptures. At one point, Faberge employed over 300 workers including 22 workmasters who oversaw the production of the firm's jewelry and precious objects. A branch of the firm opened in Moscow in 1887, specializing in neo-Russian and pan-Slavic motifs in jewelry, silver, and enamel. Other branches followed in Kiev, London, and Odessa as well as new premises in Saint Petersburg. At the onset of the Russian Revolution, Peter Carl Faberge fled the country to Paris then Switzerland, where he died in 1920. His firm was nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Provenance

?-1966

India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1966-

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Citations

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: p. 36, cat. 14; reproduced in color, p. 37 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org

Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Mentioned: p. 106, cat. 81; reproduced in color: p. 106 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org

Tillander-Godenhielm, Ulla. Golden Years of Fabergé: Drawings and Objects from the Wigström Workshop. [Place of publication not identified]: A La Vieille Russie, 2000. Reproduced: p. 133 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org

Harrison, Stephen, Emmanuel Ducamp, and Jeannine J. Falino. Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Mentioned, p. 39, cat. 50 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org

Exhibition history

The India Early Minshall Collection: Faberge and his Contemporaries. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 15, 1967-January 21, 1968).

Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).

Faberge 1846 - 1920. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (June 23-October 23, 1977).

Faberge, Imperial Jeweler. St. George Hall of the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (June 18-August 15, 1993); Musée des arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (September 24, 1993-January 2, 1994); Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (January 26-April 10, 1994).

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 (March 12-May 11, 1997).

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2008-January 18, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 7-May 31, 2009).