Unfolding Pictures: Queen Mary’s Fabergé Fan

Fabergé Hand Fan
by Henrik Wigström
1912
Owned by Mary of Teck
by whom given Queen Alexandra
Silk, Mother-of-Pearl, Enamel, Gold, Rubies
The Royal Collection

Sometimes, Queen Mary (of Teck, wife of George V) was actually given an object as opposed to her usual methods of acquiring things. This remarkable fan was a gift from her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra.


Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII were loyal patrons of Fabergé, so much so, in fact, that a branch of Fabergé was opened in London and remained on New Bond Street until 1915 largely because of the frequent commissions of the Royal Family. Mary of Teck shared Queen Alexandra’s passion for the works of Fabergé and especially the designs of Henrik Wigström. The sticks and guards of this fan are Wigström’s design—stamped with his name. The front guard is a masterful creation of mother-of-pearl, two-tone gold, white and blue enamel and Burmese rubies. The back guard and sticks feature the same mother-of-pearl and gold in a simpler pattern. The artist of the watercolor scene on the crème silk leaf is unknown and is not recorded in the catalog of Wigström’s work.