Fabergé Works of Art
Nephrite and Silver Desk Clock
Ruzhnikov • Fine art & antiques
Fabergé Nephrite and Silver Desk Clock
height: 24 cm
maker’s mark: FABERGÉ in Cyrillic
work master’s mark: Cyrillic initials M.P. for Mikhail Perchin
assay mark of St Petersburg
silver standard: 88 zolotnik
scratched Fabergé inventory n° 48555
French import marks
mechanical movement signed H. Moser & Cie
A large and very rare Fabergé nephrite desk clock in neo-rococo style with movement by H. Moser & Cie. An asymmetrically cut translucent nephrite panel is set within a silver rocaille border and centred by a black and white enamel dial with black Roman numerals and openwork gold hands. The dial is surrounded by an opulent Louis XV-style silver mount cast and chased with scrolls and flowers. The top of the composition portrays an amorous couple: a young musician entertaining a lady with a lap dog. The piece is supported on a scrolled silver strut and comes with a fitted leather case.
Private collection, sold at Sotheby’s
York on 19 April 2001 for $108,000
Silver-Gilt and Guilloché Enamel Desk Clock, circa 1890, height 20.3 cm
New
The clock was designed by Michael Perchin (1860-1903), Fabergé’s most gifted head workmaster, active from 1884 until 1903. During these years he supervised the production of the Imperial Easter Eggs. All but one of the famous Fabergé large Imperial Eggs made before 1903 were designed by Perchin and bear the hallmark of his workshop. Fabergé’s production under Perchin was particularly innovative, notably in the fields of guilloché enamel and hardstone carving, with the firm’s output covering a wide variety of object types and styles.
Silver-Gilt and Guilloché Enamel Desk Clock, circa 1890, height 20.3 cm McFerrin Collection, purchased at Christie’s New York on 23 April 2010 for $170,500, now on permanent loan at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Comparable examples of neo-rococo clocks by Michael Perchin, but in enamelled silver, are the silver-gilt clock with green guilloché enamel from the McFerrin Collection (purchased at Christie’s New York for $170,500 on 23 April 2020), now on permanent loan at the Houston Museum of Natural Science; and a similar pink enamel timepiece formerly in the Joan Rivers Collection (sold at Sotheby’s New York for $108,000 on 19 April 2001).
Nephrite Vase presented by Tsar Nicholas II to King Edward VII, 1908, diameter 24.9 cm Royal Collection Trust
Nephrite, the dark green jade from Siberia used for this clock, was perhaps the most iconic material in Fabergé’s lapidary production. Its rich “spinach green” colouring and the soft translucency of the stone – attractive in their own right – were frequently enhanced by gold or silver mounts, diamond inlay, and touches of red enamel.
Nephrite was used in numerous royal commissions, such as the nephrite vase presented by Tsar Nicholas II to King Edward VII (Royal Collection Trust), the goldmounted picture-frame gifted by Queen Victoria to Queen Louise of Denmark now in a private collection (sold at Christie’s New York for $245,000 on 22 June 2016), or luxurious imperial presentation snuff-boxes with Nicholas II’s portraits and cyphers. The most famous Fabergé nephrite pieces, however, were Imperial Easter Eggs: the Alexander Palace Egg presented by Tsar Nicholas II to his consort, Alexandra Fyodorovna, in 1908 (now in the Moscow Kremlin Museums); and the Bay Tree Egg made for Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna in 1911 (Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg).
Gold-Mounted Nephrite Picture Frame presented by Queen Victoria to Queen Louise of Denmark, circa 1898, height 12.1 cm
Private collection, sold at Christie’s New York on 22 June 2016 for $245,000
Alexander Palace Imperial Easter Egg, presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his consort, Alexandra Fyodorovna, in 1908, height: 11 cm
Moscow Kremlin Museums
Bay Tree Imperial Easter Egg, presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his mother, Empress Dowager Maria Fyodorovna, in 1911, height: 30 cm
Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg
Imperial Presentation Nephrite Snuff-Box with a Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II, circa 1890 Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg
Imperial Presentation Nephrite Snuff-Box with a Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II, circa 1890
Private collection, sold at Christie’s New York on 19 April 2002 for $834,500
Imperial Presentation Nephrite Tray with the Cypher of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, 1905
Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg
Imperial Presentation Nephrite Snuff-Box with the Cypher of Emperor Nicholas II, 1908-1917
Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg, purchased at Christie’s London on 28 November 2007 for £180,500
Andre Ruzhnikov
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+44-203-983-8383
ruzhnikov.com
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Credits
Photography: Andy Johnson
Сonsultant: Katya Yakushkina
Design: Maria Kiseleva
Printed: Screaming Colour Limited