Newsletter 2024 Fall and Winter
- Fabergé Symposiums: A Look Back and into the Future (Christel Ludewig McCanless) Winter 16
- Houston, Texas Winter 12-13 | Winter 16
- Richmond, Virginia Summer 11 (Special Edition) | Fall and Winter 18
- St. Petersburg, Russia Fall 14 | Summer 18
Permanent venues are listed on the Fabergé Research Site – Exhibitions.
Fabergé enthusiasts interested in meeting to view the King’s Gallery and the Wartski Jeweler exhibitions in London during the first two weeks of October 2025 (exact dates to be determined), please contact Tim Adams.
April 12, 2025 – November 16, 2025. Victoria & Albert Museum unveils an exhibition of 350 pieces of Cartier Jewelry. This French jeweler worked in St. Petersburg at the time of Fabergé prior to 1917. Of the 19 Fabergé objects in the permanent V&A collection only three are on public display.
October 1-12, 2025 Wartski Jeweler will celebrate its 160th anniversary with a loan exhibition, From Function to Fantasy: The Brooch. Four Fabergé brooches in the Imperial Russian section and ca. 11 Fabergé brooches of different materials from private collections will be shown. Thank you for the advance information for the Fabergé Research Newsletter.
The jewelry shop of Bentley and Skinner in London is offering 35 Fabergé objects on its website.
Dreweatts in London published a video interview with Fabergé historian Geoffrey Munn highlighting several pieces from its March 19, 2025, auction.
(A.) Viktor Aarne (1863-1934) – workmaster
mark BA
– active 1891-1904, returnedto Viipuri (Vyborg), Finland, in 1904 as an
independent jeweler with a successful
jewelry business of a workshop and a retail
store for another thirty years with the
JVA mark.
(Wikipedia)
(B.) August Hollming
(1854-1913) – workmaster mark
A*H
– active 1880-1913.One of his specialties with the Fabergé
firm were small gem-set brooches.
(Wikipedia)
(C.) Workshop and Retail Shop with Viktor Aarne Standing in the Center of His Studio in Viipuri (Vyborg), Finland. In 1904, Aarne sold his Fabergé-affiliated
workshop due to growing political unrest in Russia, and moved back to Finland.
(Courtesy Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, Fabergé: His Masters and Artisans, 2018, pp. 196, 198, 200; Aarne’s biographical sketch on Sotheby’s Artists website)
(D.) “18K gold brooch, with enamel and rose-cut diamonds, Vyborg 1906. Estimate 650-750 EUR.” Brief lot
description by Bulkowskis Auction, Helsinki, Finland (subsidiary of the British Bonhams auction conglomerate),
appeared on December 4, 2024, Lot 1582371. Unfortunately, the Lilies of Valley brooch is shown upside down
on the auction website (the blossoms should face down). The lot is also without a workmaster identification
in the auction entry. For the current research study, the brooch has been inverted since lilies of the valley
display their blooms toward the earth. Neither a maker’s mark nor the Fabergé affiliation is acknowledged in the
very short auction lot description. The details were discovered by a team of keen Fabergé enthusiasts.
(Photographs Courtesy Bukowski, Helsinki)
(E.) Text extracted from a lengthy essay about the Fabergé brooch with
two stunning Siberian cabochon amethysts set in 14K rose gold with a
round-cut diamond. Crafted by August Hollming’s Fabergé workshop
and then resold in Finland by Viktor Aarne in a J.V. Aarne retail box—a
rarity for Fabergé works. $98,500, Item #32-0579
(Photograph Courtesy M.S. Rau, New Orleans, LA; Featured in the
Wall Street Journal, February 8-9, 2025, A5)
CLICK THE ABOVE PICTURE FOR A LARGER VIEW
1. (B)A – only the A shows (Viktor Aarne (1863-1934),
St. Petersburg workmaster mark BA
(active 1891-1904).
2. Crown – Official assay mark for Finland. Applied by
the Official Assay Authorities of the Grand Duchy of
Finland (1809-1917) and the Republic of Finland (1917-?).
3. European stamp of 750 for 18K gold. A5 for the year 1906.
4. W – Viipuri (Vyborg) city mark, Wiborg is an older name
for the city and the location of the Assay Office.
CLICK THE ABOVE PICTURES FOR A LARGER VIEW
1. 56 Russian mark for 14K gold.
2. Russian kokoshnik stamp (woman’s head facing to the left) dates
the brooch to 1899-1908 and assayer’s date mark for 1899-1908.
3. August Hollming (1854-1913) – workmaster mark A*H (active 1880-1913).
workmaster mark in Cyrillic (1891-1904) stating it was created in his St. Petersburg Fabergé workshop, since his Finnish mark was JVA (Johan Viktor Aarne in Latin letters). In a conversation with Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, author of Fabergé: His Masters and Artisans, about this unusual combination of hallmarks she suggested:The M.S. Rau brooch with the August Hollming A*H mark (E.) has two cabochon-cut Siberian amethysts, weighing 26.85 and 29.36 carats. They have uniquely faceted pavilions giving them beautiful dimension and depth. The amethyst brooch is in a J.V. Aarne Viipuri presentation case (F.) which bears witness to being sold through Aarne’s Finnish retail shop.
(F.) Amethyst Brooch in a J.V. Aarne Viipuri presentation box. It has an Arne imprint on
its silk lining stating it was sold through Aarne’s Finnish retail shop.
(Courtesy M.S. Rau, New Orleans, LA)
It is fascinating what hallmarks can reveal about the history of a piece of jewelry, the artists who made the object, when and where they were made, and with some luck, the hands it has passed through over time.
1 Tillander-Godenhielm, Fabergé: His Masters and Artisans, 2018, p. 200.
DeeAnn Hoff, Christel Ludewig McCanless, and Roy Tomlin (USA)
(A.) 2014: Camilla, Duchess of
Cornwall, Wearing the Fabergé 1897
Queen Victoria Diamond
Jubilee Brooch
(Courtesy of Ursula Butschal, Royal
Magazin | Fabergé Research
Newsletter, Winter 2014)
(B.) 1897 Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee
Brooch by Fabergé
(Courtesy of the Royal Collection
Trust/All Rights Reserved)
Letter Ksi from the Old Cyrillic
Alphabet = Number 60, Not Used in Russia
since Early 1700’s
(Wikipedia)
2010 – “Searching for a Fabergé Brooch.” (Fabergé Research Newsletter, Summer 2010)
May 9, 2014 – “Queen Victoria’s Fabergé Sapphire Brooch | Royal Jewels” (Royal Magazin in English & German)
2022 – Brooch Worn by Queen Camilla, Consort of King Charles III, at the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) (Royal Magazin)
2023 – August Holmström, (Workmaster mark AH 
– Active 1857-1903) Fabergé Design Sketch (C.) Discovered by the London Jeweler Wartski and described as the Hesse Jubilee Brooch.
(C.) 2023 Hesse Jubilee Brooch: The Original
Design for the Royal Fabergé Hesse Jubilee
Brooch Discovered at Wartski
(Courtesy Wartski London)
(D.) Hesse Family Gathering, Darmstadt, 1894.
(Fabergé Research Newsletter, Summer 2010)
Top Row: Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Alexandra
Feodorovna of Russia, Princess Victoria of Battenberg,
Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine
Bottom Row: Princess Irene of Prussia (did not contribute
to the gift), Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna of Russia,
Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Hesse and by Rhine,
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
200 Rubles Gr D and Gr Duchess of Hesse
300 Rubles Gr D and Gr Duchess Serge
400 Rubles The Emperor and I
1000 Rubles
(Fund of the Chancellery of Empress Alexandra, the Russian State Historical Archives (RGIA) in St. Petersburg)
Contributors to the brooch:
- Princess Victoria (1863-1950) and her husband Prince Ludwig (1854-1921) of Battenberg (not pictured)
- Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig (1868-1937) of Hesse and by Rhine with his wife Grand Duchess Victoria Melita (1876-1936)
- Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (1864-1918, aka Ella) and her husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857-1905) of Russia
- Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918, aka Alix) and her husband Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918) of Russia.
Records in the Fund of the Chancellery of Empress Alexandra, the Russian State Historical Archives (RGIA) in St. Petersburg (РГИА. Фонд 525. Опись 1 (вн. 198/2686). File 89. L. 1,5,17)
Л. 1 Письмо Начальника Кабинета принца Людвига фон Баттенберг господина Menges от 2 июня 1897 из Дармштадта (о доставлении взноса на подарок Королеве Виктории).
Л. 5
Копия с собственноручной Ея Императорского Величества Александры Феодоровны записки на имя графа Ламсдорфа от 14 июнч 1897 года на английском языке.
“This is a mistake, they must only give 100 Rubel, wh. makes 200 Marks. Please, keep the 100 Rubels (the other kindly return) and when I get the rest, Fabergé must have it.
100 R. Pr and Pr-ss Battenberg
200 R. Gr D and Gr Duchess of Hesse
300 R. Gr D and Gr Duchess Serge
400 R. The Emperor and I
1000 R.
You must take the 200 r. from my sums and 200 r. from the Emperors. We gave Fabergé the 3 sapphires from the ‘Cabinet’ for the brooch. 1897 from Darmstadt. (on the delivery of a contribution for a gift to Queen Victoria)
L. 1 A Letter from the Chief of the Cabinet of Prince Ludwig of Battenberg, Mr. Menges, dated June 2, 1897, from Darmstadt (on the delivery of a contribution for a gift to Queen Victoria)
L. 5
A copy of Her Imperial Majesty Alexandra Feodorovna’s handwritten note to Count Lamsdorf dated June 14, 1897, in English.
This is a mistake, they must only give 100 Rubles, which makes 200 Marks. Please, keep the 100 Rubles (the other kindly return) and when I get the rest, Fabergé must have it.
100 Rubles Prince and Princess Battenberg
200 Rubles Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse
300 Rubles Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Serge
400 Rubles The Emperor and I [Nicholas and Alexandra]
1000 Rubles
You must take the 200 rubles from my sums and 200 rubles from the Emperor’s. We gave Fabergé the 3 sapphires from the ‘Cabinet’ for the brooch. 1897 from Darmstadt. (on the delivery of a contribution for a gift to Queen Victoria)
Л. 12
Временно Исполняющему обязанности Заведующего Двором Его Императорского Высочества Великого князя Сергея Александровича.
Ея Величество Государыня Императрица Александра Федоровна Высочайше соизволила повелеть мне передать Вашему Превосходительству, что из следующих в уплату за подарок, предназначенный Ея Величеству Королеве Великобританской по случаю 60-летняго юбилея от имени Их Императорских Величеств, Их Императорских Высочеств Великого князя Сергея Александровича и Великой княгини Елизаветы Феодоровны, Их Королевских Высочеств Великого Герцога и Великой Герцогини Гессенской, Ея Великогерцогского Высочества Принцессы Баттенбергской и Его Светлости Принца Баттенбергского доля Их Императорских Высочеств Великого князя Сергея Александровича и Великой княгини Елизаветы Федоровны составляет триста рублей.
В исполнение такового Высочайшего повеления имею честь обратиться к Вашему Превосходительству с покорнейшею просьбою не отказать в благосклонном распоряжении о доставлении мне вышеозначенных денег. Секретарь Ея Величества граф Ламздорф За Делопроизводителя: Вольф
Л. 17
23 августа 1897 г.
По счету Фаберже за брошь, предназначенную в подарок Королеве Великобританской, плачено 1055 р.
L. 12
Acting Head of the Court of His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.
Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna has deigned to command me to convey to Your Excellency, that of the following in payment for the gift intended to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain on the occasion of her 60th anniversary on behalf of Their Imperial Majesties, Their Imperial Highnesses Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse, Her Grand Ducal Highness the Princess of Battenberg and His Serene Highness the Prince of Battenberg, the share of Their Imperial Highnesses Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna is 300 rubles.
In fulfillment of this Highest command, I have the honor to turn to Your Excellency with the most-humble request not to refuse the favorable order to deliver me the above-mentioned money. Her Majesty’s Secretary Count Lamsdorf for Clerk: Wolf
L. 17
August 23, 1897
According to Fabergé’s invoice for a brooch intended as a gift to the Queen of Great Britain, 1055 rubles were paid.
(Estimated 2024 value: $21,000, Translation review: Courtesy Galina Korneva)
2014 The German internet publication Royal Magazin included photographs of the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee brooch with a brief text showing the brooch being worn by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (A.), but unfortunately without dated bibliographic citations. Through the courtesy and generosity of Ursula Butshal, owner of the Royal Magazin (in German and English), the Winter 2014 edition of the Fabergé Research Newsletter, shared the photograph.
August 16, 2018 The Court Jeweler showcased a series of Getty Photographic Images of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, wearing the brooch at various official British court functions. On September 19, 2022, Queen Camilla, previously the Duchess of Cornwall, wore the Fabergé jubilee brooch during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) at Westminster Abbey. Images from the funeral were featured by the Court Jeweler. Permission to reproduce State Funeral photographs of Queen Camilla wearing the brooch in this newsletter are prohibitive for a non-profit scholarly art history website without subscription fees and advertising where Fabergé enthusiasts, without remuneration, share their research efforts and new findings.
2023 Research by the staff at the London Fabergé dealer Wartski discovered and published a connection in the Holmström workshop albums – the jeweler’s bench design (C.) drawn in pencil on a card and they described the jewel as the Hesse Jubilee Brooch. The ingenious design (B.) incorporates a diamond ‘Ksi’ within a diamond heart. The ancient Cyrillic letter ‘Ksi’ (Ѯ, ѯ) derived from the Greek letter Xi (Ξ, ξ) represents the value “60” when used as a number. In Holmström’s original design the brooch is surmounted by a diamond and suspends “what appear to be two drop shaped pearls”. The diamond and pearls were subsequently replaced by the three sapphires provided from the Imperial Cabinet by the Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. After Queen Victoria’s death, the Jubilee brooch was bequeathed to her third daughter, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, born Princess Helena (1846-1923). At some point, the brooch was returned to the British Royal Collection. The Wartski essay credits Galina Korneva for her research, but unfortunately Galina’s sister, the late Tatiana Cheboksarova, died before this research discovery appeared on the Wartski website, and we miss her talents very much!
Grand Duchess Vladimir’s Miniature Fabergé
Chair after Years off the Market | The Secret
Compartments of a Fabergé Riddle by Jo Vickery,
Sotheby’s London, 2019 | Discovering the World
of Fabergé Furniture by Christel Ludewig
McCanless and Riana Benko, Fabergé Research
Newsletter, Spring 2020
(Wartski London)
Imperial Clock by Carl Fabergé, St.
Petersburg, 1896-1902.
Illustrated on the dealer’s website
with a photograph from the 1902 Fabergé
Exhibition in the von Dervis Mansion,
St. Petersburg, Russia.
-
Barberry, thorny shrubs of genus Berberis bearing yellow flowers and red or blue-black berries. The berberis plant is an often-used spice in the Russian cuisine. Wigström stock number 13044, ca. 1907.
- Bearberry, any of three dwarf shrubs of the genus Arctostaphylos, which principally grow in arctic and subarctic regions, and bear edible berries. Wigström stock number 17677, 1910-1911.
CLICK THE ABOVE INVOICE FOR A LARGER VIEW
Barberry flower study by Fabergé purchased by the Russian diplomat Stanislas Poklewski-Koziell
from Fabergé’s London branch on October, 15, 1907 for £63, 15s.
(Wartski London)
Berberis
(User: MPF, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Okhio, Camille, “5 Antiques that Caught Our Eye at the Winter
Show, From Furniture to Fabergé“, Elle Décor, January 24, 2025.
CLICK THE ABOVE LEDGER FOR A LARGER VIEW
Bearberry flower study by Fabergé purchased by Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1853-1920)
from the St. Petersburg Fabergé branch on April 30, 1913, for 250 rubles.
(Christie’s New York, February 7, 2025, Lot 8, Sold for $529,200)
Nephrite Hippopotamus Cigar Lighter, Gift for King Edward VII (1841-1910)
(Sotheby’s New York, February 7, 2025, Lot 9, Sold for $195,000)
“Castle Howard Fabergé Hardstone Carved Animals” (Sotheby’s Geneva, May 6, 2025)
“A Menagerie of Fabergé Coming to Sotheby’s” (National Jeweler, February 18, 2025)
“Who Wants a Fabergé Zoo? Prices Start at £10k” Castle Howard Is Setting Free Its 31-strong Menagerie
(Financial Times, March 29, 2025)
“Rediscovered aquamarine and diamond pendant
sold for £43,950 … having been smuggled out
of Russia in 1918 in the hem of a dress.“
(Dreweatts London, March 19, 2025 Lot 17)
- The Mastery of Fabergé Jewelry & Objects of Vertu with Lot O, a YouTube narrated by Charlotte Peel and Geoffrey Munn with the title, Mastering Fabergé: The Remarkable Discovery Stories behind Newly Attributed Fabergé Works of Art
- Flip book
- Auction Results
- Review by Andre Ruzhnikov, “Horses for Courses“, April 10, 2025
WITHDRAWN! Luton Hoo Fabergé Collection was
removed from in the From the Wernher Collection
of Fabergé, the Viscount Wimborne and the Earl
of Suffolk and Berkshire auction including the
Fabergé fan (above) without any announcement.
on the web.
(Christie’s London, March 26 – April 7, 2025,
Lot 512, Estimate GBP 25,000-35,000). | Historian
Zena Dickinson in The Luton Heritage Forum:
Telling Stories of Past and Present shares her
first-hand observations in The Fabergé
Collection at Luton Hoo
(Last edited September 29, 2021)
Six Fabergé objects from the Viscount Wimborne
and the Earl of Suffolk remained for the auction.
Review by Andre Ruzhnikov: “Christie’s
Last-Minute Let-Down”
- Dallas: Full Preview, May 10-13, 2025
(A.) Windshield Photograph
(Courtesy Danny Vivian, Victoria,
Texas, Pat Hazlett’s hometown)
(B.) Alma Pihl (1888-1976), Fabergé Designer in St. Petersburg, Snowflake Pin and 1913 Winter Egg
(Tillander-Godenhielm, Ulla. Fabergé: His Masters and Artisans, 2019, pp. 150, 152-153)
(A.) Small kovsh, silver, almandine, casting, embossing,
gilding. Height 2.3; length 10.5. St. Petersburg, last
quarter of the 19th century. Firm of K. Fabergé, master
mark “AR“.
(Ed. note: Could this be more correctly Julius Alexander
Rappoport (1851-1917) – workmaster mark I.P.
–active 1883-1908, succeeded by the First Artel, and not
just his initials?)
At the bottom of the kovsh is a silver half-ruble coin
from 1720 with an image of Peter I. Two crossed anchors
and a scepter, with a sample of 88; firm inventory number
2550. Received from Gokhran in 1963.
(Muntian, Tatiana. Fabergé: Great Jeweller of Russia,
2000, p. 132, object #143. In Russian)
(B.) Gemset Parcel-gilt Kovsh. Christie’s New
York, October 21, 2003, Lot 148, Estimate USD
5,000 – 8,000, Sold for $5,975. Rubel dated
1724, and a similar copy of the kvosh is in
the Moscow Kremlin State Armoury Museum.
(C.) Jewelled Parcel-Gilt Kovsh,
Christie’s London, November 28, 2011,
Lot 276, Estimate GDP 7,900-10,000
($11,000-$14,000), Sold for GBP 5,625.
(D.) McFerrin Collection in Houston, Texas, contains a
duck-shaped kovsh acquired from a private collector.
Its description includes the Russian traditions influencing
this Fabergé object, and a close-up of the coin.
(From A Snowflake to an Iceberg, The McFerrin
Collection, 2013, p. 33)
(E.) Jeweled Silver Kovsh from the MICA: The
Collection, Christie’s New York,
December 13, 2024, Lot 1054, Estimate
$2,000-3,000, Sold for $22,680.
(F.) FABERGÉ, A RUBY SET SILVER AND
SILVER GILT KOVSH, Dreweatts,
March 19, 2025, Lot 16, Estimate
$2,000-$3,000, Sold for GBP 11,000 ($14,300).
(G.) Fabergé Gem-Set Parcel Gilt Silver Duck Form
Kovsh, Fabergé, Workmaster Julius Rappoport, St.
Petersburg, before 1899 Heritage Auctions,
Dallas (TX) is offering it as part of the Fabergé
Heritage Collection at their May 13, 2025 auction,
Estimate $10,000 – $15,000.
(Courtesy Nick Nicholson)
(H.) Fabergé or not? 20th Century Russian 88 silver
kovsh with cabochon garnets and relief double eagle to
interior. Lot description states the object is stamped
with IP.
(Ed. Note: There is no mention of Fabergé, could this
be a Rappoport mark? Note the change in the design of
the kovsh on the tail piece and the longer neck.
The above hallmark photograph shows a “delta” on it for
Moscow, yet Rappoport was a St. Petersburg workmaster.)
(Kodner Galleries, Dania Beach, Florida,
April 5, 2017, Lot 96)
(I.) Fabergé or not? RUSSIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS SILVER GILT KOVSH,
CIRCA 1900, the coin set kovsh modelled as a stylized bird with
ruby set glass eyes, 10cm wide.
(Duke’s, Dorchester (UK) April 16, 2025, Lot 261)