The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 17, 2025

Miniature Teapot

1886–96
(Russian, 1860–1903)
(Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg
gold, bowenite
Overall: 5.8 x 10.9 cm (2 5/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.479
Location: 211 Fabergé

Did You Know?

Sometimes called "new jade," bowenite is actually considered a semiprecious gemstone. Though Fabergé obtained his supply from the Ural Mountains of Russia, bowenite is also the state mineral of Rhode Island.

Description

The House of Fabergé specialized in the creation of little treasures intended as opulent personal gifts. In creating luxurious accessories for a desk or tabletop, Fabergé often used native hardstones such as multicolored agate and quartz, green nephrite, pink rhodonite, rock crystal, and pale green bowenite found in the Ural Mountains of western Russia. Fabergé's designers often paired hardstones with gold mounts, particularly in the St. Petersburg workshop where the goldsmiths were concentrated.
  • ?-1966
    India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Hawley, Henry. Fabergé and His Contemporaries: The India Early Minshall Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Reproduced: p. 11; mentioned: p. 10, cat. 1; ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 105, cat. 79 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • 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).
    Faberge 1846 - 1920. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (June 23-October 23, 1977).
    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=Miniature Teapot|url=false|author=Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin, House of Fabergé|year=1886–96|access-date=17 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.479