Gifts of Grandeur: The Grand Duchess Olga Gold Casket, 1800-1850

Gilt Bronze and Micromosaic Jewel Casket
St. Petersburg, 1800-1850
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Collection

Tsar Paul I (reigned 1796-1801) built Gatchina Priory, south of St. Petersburg, commissioning the monumental structure in the Gothic style which he favored. This jewel casket exhibits a similar style. It’s believed that the casket (made either in Rome or St. Petersburg) was created for the Grand Duchess Olga (1822-92), the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I.

The casket is constructed of gilt bronze with relief friezes of intricate archways, each interrupted by a central oval. Many of the oval medallions have been inset with micromosaics of putti in the act of play. The jewel case’s top section is adorned with a relief of arcs, arches and fleurs-de-lis set against foliage. At the center of the lid, a rectangular mosaic has been set. This intricate scene depicts the Gatchina Priory nestled into a lush landscape.

Made between 1800 and 1850, the casket is thought to be the work of Georgi Ferdinand Wekler, considered one of the foremost mosaicists of his day. The box is now part of the Gilbert Collection at the V&A.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Beautiful Sky of Italy Table, 1845

 

The Beautiful Sky of Italy Table
Michelangelo Barberi, 1845
The Victoria & Albert Museum




This masterpiece of micromosaic and furniture-making was made for Francis Needham, Earl Kilmorey, and was exhibited in London at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it received a Council Medal, the highest honor awarded.

Made in Rome in 1845 by Michelangelo Barberi (1787 -1867), the circular micromosaic tabletop depicts a central group of four genii floating in the open sky—each bears the attributes of painting, music, architecture and sculpture. Around the circumference of the table are eight views of Italian cities: Piazza del Duomo, Milan; St. Mark's Square, Venice; Piazza della Signoria, Florence; St. Peter's Square, Rome; the Coliseum, Rome; the Riviera di Chaia, Naples; St. Rosalia, Palermo and the Harbor at Genoa. The table base is gilt bronze and is made up of four legs surmounted with rams heads.

More than just majestic sites in Italy, the views depicted on this tabletop are those that were visited by Tsar Nicholas I on his Italian tour of 1845. In 1846 the Tsar commissioned a tabletop directly from Michelangelo Barberi who referred to the composition as “Il bel cielo d'Italia” (the beautiful sky of Italy). The original table made for Tsar Nicholas I, showed a central composition of a group of putti holding a portrait of the Tsarina Alexandra. That work is now at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Barberi next made this similar table for the Earl.

Michelangelo Barberi was known as “Cavaliere” and was the leading micromosaicist of the Nineteenth Century. One member of a celebrated family, his brothers were painters and his father Camillo was an architect, painter and designer who served as Director of Fortifications and Prisons for Italy following his meeting with the Emperor Napoleon in Milan in 1804. This illustrious family lived in Paris for a spell, but later returned to Rome during the reign of Pius VII (1800-1823).

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Grand Duchess Olga Gold Casket, 1800-1850

Gilt Bronze and Micromosaic Jewel Casket
St. Petersburg, 1800-1850
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Collection

Tsar Paul I (reigned 1796-1801) built Gatchina Priory, south of St. Petersburg, commissioning the monumental structure in the Gothic style which he favored. This jewel casket exhibits a similar style. It’s believed that the casket (made either in Rome or St. Petersburg) was created for the Grand Duchess Olga (1822-92), the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I.

The casket is constructed of gilt bronze with relief friezes of intricate archways, each interrupted by a central oval. Many of the oval medallions have been inset with micromosaics of putti in the act of play. The jewel case’s top section is adorned with a relief of arcs, arches and fleurs-de-lis set against foliage. At the center of the lid, a rectangular mosaic has been set. This intricate scene depicts the Gatchina Priory nestled into a lush landscape.

Made between 1800 and 1850, the casket is thought to be the work of Georgi Ferdinand Wekler, considered one of the foremost mosaicists of his day. The box is now part of the Gilbert Collection at the V&A.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Grand Duchess Olga Gold Casket, 1800-1850

Gilt Bronze and Micromosaic Jewel Casket
St. Petersburg, 1800-1850
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Collection

Tsar Paul I (reigned 1796-1801) built Gatchina Priory, south of St. Petersburg, commissioning the monumental structure in the Gothic style which he favored. This jewel casket exhibits a similar style. It’s believed that the casket (made either in Rome or St. Petersburg) was created for the Grand Duchess Olga (1822-92), the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I.

The casket is constructed of gilt bronze with relief friezes of intricate archways, each interrupted by a central oval. Many of the oval medallions have been inset with micromosaics of putti in the act of play. The jewel case’s top section is adorned with a relief of arcs, arches and fleurs-de-lis set against foliage. At the center of the lid, a rectangular mosaic has been set. This intricate scene depicts the Gatchina Priory nestled into a lush landscape.

Made between 1800 and 1850, the casket is thought to be the work of Georgi Ferdinand Wekler, considered one of the foremost mosaicists of his day. The box is now part of the Gilbert Collection at the V&A.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Fabergé Basket of Flowers Egg

Basket of Flowers Egg
Russia, 1901
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Made in 1901, this work of parcel gilt silver, gold, oyster guilloché and blue enamel, and diamonds is an Imperial Easter egg by Carl Fabergé. The masterpiece is basket-shaped with a rose diamond trellis and an oval handle adorned with four bows. The egg contains wild flowers (pansies, cornflowers, daisies, mock orange), leaves and oat husks of enamel on gold.

When originally made, the egg was entirely enameled in white, however, due to damage sustained in the aftermath of the revolution (when this as well as most of the Tsar’s treasures, was confiscated by the provisional government in 1917), the base was re-enameled in blue.

Queen Mary (1867-1953), Consort of King George V, acquired the egg in 1933. It is possible that the re-enameling took place prior to Her Majesty’s acquisition or, perhaps, it her request since the color of the enamel is one that was favored by the Queen.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Beautiful Sky of Italy Table, 1845



The Beautiful Sky of Italy Table
Michelangelo Barberi, 1845
The Victoria & Albert Museum




This masterpiece of micromosaic and furniture-making was made for Francis Needham, Earl Kilmorey, and was exhibited in London at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it received a Council Medal, the highest honor awarded.

Made in Rome in 1845 by Michelangelo Barberi (1787 -1867), the circular micromosaic tabletop depicts a central group of four genii floating in the open sky—each bears the attributes of painting, music, architecture and sculpture. Around the circumference of the table are eight views of Italian cities: Piazza del Duomo, Milan; St. Mark's Square, Venice; Piazza della Signoria, Florence; St. Peter's Square, Rome; the Coliseum, Rome; the Riviera di Chaia, Naples; St. Rosalia, Palermo and the Harbor at Genoa. The table base is gilt bronze and is made up of four legs surmounted with rams heads.

More than just majestic sites in Italy, the views depicted on this tabletop are those that were visited by Tsar Nicholas I on his Italian tour of 1845. In 1846 the Tsar commissioned a tabletop directly from Michelangelo Barberi who referred to the composition as “Il bel cielo d'Italia” (the beautiful sky of Italy). The original table made for Tsar Nicholas I, showed a central composition of a group of putti holding a portrait of the Tsarina Alexandra. That work is now at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Barberi next made this similar table for the Earl.

Michelangelo Barberi was known as “Cavaliere” and was the leading micromosaicist of the Nineteenth Century. One member of a celebrated family, his brothers were painters and his father Camillo was an architect, painter and designer who served as Director of Fortifications and Prisons for Italy following his meeting with the Emperor Napoleon in Milan in 1804. This illustrious family lived in Paris for a spell, but later returned to Rome during the reign of Pius VII (1800-1823).