Peter Carl Fabergé

PETER CARL FABERGÉ (Russia, 1846 - Switzerland, 1920).
Silver and gold brooch with pearls, 1908-1918.
With markings.
In its original case.
Measurements: 5,5 x 1 cm.
Elegant brooch created by the illustrious jeweler Fabergé, with light and open structure in silver, of floral inspiration, adorned with golden areas and three pearls set in the center and the points of union of the front with the sides, in addition to several stones on the loops. The front is open, with oval shape, and is adorned with golden loops and garlands of leaves made in silver in its color.
The brooch presents as a hallmark the second Kokoshnik mark, used for marking sterling silver between 1908 and 1926 in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kiev. Therefore, the piece must be dated between 1908 and 1918, the latter year when the Fabergé firm disappeared after being nationalized by the Bolsheviks.
The Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé is considered one of the most outstanding goldsmiths in the world, being especially known for his Easter eggs commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and later by his son, Nicholas II. Born in St. Petersburg, Fabergé was trained in the family jewelry workshop, through the Grand Tour he made through Europe from 1864 and possibly at the School of Arts and Crafts in Dresden. Returning from his trip, he would be mentored by Hiskias Pendin, the master goldsmith of his father's firm, with whom he would catalog and restore objects at the Hermitage during the 1870s. After Pendin's death in 1882 Fabergé went on to run the workshop, soon achieving an enormous reputation through official exhibitions such as the Pan-Russian Exhibition in Moscow in 1882, where he won the gold medal and the St. Stanislaus medal. The Czar's admiration for his work began precisely at this time, and Fabergé would soon become the favorite jeweler of the Russian imperial court. Only three years later, in 1885, Alexander III appointed Fabergé as the official jeweler of the imperial household. In addition to the realization of the famous Easter eggs between 1887 and 1917, Fabergé tackled a wide range of typologies, from tableware to jewelry, and in 1900 he represented Russia at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he could not compete because he was part of the jury. However, the firm was forced to close with the outbreak of the October Revolution, which was nationalized by the Bolsheviks. Today Fabergé's works are preserved in the most prominent museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Royal Collection in London.