‘Fabergé is an incomparable genius of our time’ - this is how Maria Feodorovna once spoke so flatteringly of the jewellery master in a letter to her sister, the English Queen consort Alexandra.
A descendant of a family of jewellers of German origin, Carl Fabergé was born in St. Petersburg, where he founded his company in 1842 and lived and worked until the revolution. While other colleagues in the jewellery shop adhered to classical styles in their products, Carl Fabergé was fascinated by the Art Nouveau style.
In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industry Exhibition in Moscow, Fabergé's products attracted the attention of the monarchs: Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna. At the Nuremberg Fine Arts Exhibition, copies of the Scythian treasures received a gold medal, and their creator received the right to stamp the products with the double-headed eagle branding.
‘If the whole value of expensive things lies only in the multitude of diamonds or pearls, then they do not interest me much, ’ - said Fabergé. The master even used steel and tin in his works of art. And brooches made of Karelian birch, in which he embedded diamonds, thanks to Fabergé became fashionable.
The real fame in the world jewellery art was brought to the Fabergé firm by a series of jewellery in the form of Easter eggs. Eggs were created in 1885-1917 by orders of the Russian Imperial House and private buyers. The shape of the egg, the surprise inside, the uniqueness. The three components are the main secular intrigue of every bright Easter holiday in the imperial family
One of the principles of the Fabergé jewellery house. Ural, Altai and Transbaikal semi-precious stones were used. Pendants in the form of Easter eggs cost no more than a pound of good tea. Individual workshops produced photo frames, perfume bottles, brooches, orders - for every need and budget.
A unique library of the rarest albums and catalogues presented at the auction, many years collected for attribution, evaluation and education of one large collector of products of the famous firm. Many lots from this library will be presented in a public sale for the first time.
The auction will take place on 30 April and 1 May at 7pm (Moscow time). In total, you are waiting for more than 600 rare and colourful editions, in its entirety revealing the mastery of jewellery art of Carl Fabergé and jewellers who worked with him.
Most of the library is located in London. Due to the huge interest in the auction not only in Russia but also abroad, lots will be delivered from the London office to buyers in Russia after the sale.
LOT 23:
W.A. Bolin. The Court Jeweler / K. Bolin, P. Bulatov
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Start price:
300
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Buyer's Premium: 25%
More details
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W.A. Bolin. The Court Jeweler / K. Bolin, P. Bulatov
M.: Novyi Ermitage – odin, 2001
249, [7] p., ill. 34.5 x 24.5 cm.
Hardcover. Good condition.
The W. A. Bolin Jewelry House is a respected and well-known jewelry company in Sweden, founded in St. Petersburg in 1791. For 125 years, the company was active in St. Petersburg and Moscow, until political upheavals in Russia forced it to move its business to Stockholm.
Thus, historically, V. A. Bolin is even more of a Russian than a Swedish company. The generosity and demanding taste of the Russian Imperial Court, as well as the extravagance of its noble entourage, ensured a constant flow of orders for the Bolin company, whose products were distinguished by the highest level of craftsmanship and artistic execution.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Bolin and Fabergé were undoubtedly the two most prestigious and successful jewelry companies in Russia. And even as competitors, they carried out many joint projects. However, today only Fabergé is in the public eye, which is ensured by numerous publications in the press and exhibitions glorifying the merits of the firm.
The publishers of the catalogue and the curators on behalf of lesser-known Russian jewellers and goldsmiths with the exhibition "Bolin in Russia" were able to write the missing pages in the history of jewellery art with their project in 2001.
Rare lot.

