Mastery of Design: Paul, The Fabergé Bulldog, 1910

French Bulldog
Carl Fabergé
1910
The Royal Collection

As a child, the future King George V was surrounded by the dogs that lived with his father, King Edward VII and mother, Queen Alexandra. Among the assorted Royal canines, King George V developed close relationships with the French Bulldogs in particular. As an adult, George had a fondness for a French Bulldog named Paul. Paul modeled for Carl Fabergé and the result is this statuette of agate, guilloché enamel, rose-cut diamonds.


King George V purchased this statuette, along with several others, from Fabergé’s London Branch shortly after his father’s death, and George’s subsequent ascent to the throne, in 1910. He presented the figure to his wife, Mary of Teck, who enjoyed these things quite a lot. While it was an addition to Mary’s existing collection of Fabergé animals, it was the start of a subset collection of tiny French bulldogs.