Monday, January 20, 2014

Mastery of Design: A Scent Flacon by Fabergé, 1900

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II




Before Queen Mary, Consort of King George V, filled the Royal residences with Fabergé creations, her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII, had already amassed a tremendous collection of her own--from her Fabergé farm in miniature which we've examined in great detail to the much-ballyhooed eggs to bell-pushes, desk-sets, clocks, picture frames and even little curiosities such as this scent flacon made by Carl Fabergé himself circa 1900.

The pieces is carved from a piece a aventurine quartz and is adorned with rose-cut diamonds and a cabochon ruby set in gold.  It's one of several scent flacons which Fabergé made in this form during a time when he was playing with the idea of imitating earlier Chinese carvings.

Her Majesty Queen Alexandra most likely acquired this flacon in 1904.  The records of The Royal Collection indicate that Her Majesty purchased a Fabergé scent flacon in jade at Lady Paget’s charity bazaar in 1904.

It could be that the records were referring to this piece.  However, I'd like to note that this piece is aventurine quartz which is not jade, which is a silicate mineral.  Still, the keeper of the records in 1904 might not have known the difference upon sight as the two minerals do look similar.  





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