A Fabergé Gold-mounted, Gem-Set Nephrite and Guilloché Enamel Miniature Kovsh, Workmaster Henrik Wigström, St Petersburg, 1904-1908
Session begins in
December 18, 06:00 PM GMT
Estimate
18,000 - 25,000 USD
Bid
11,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
of traditional shape, the body carved from a singular piece of nephrite, the gold-mounted handle of translucent white enamel over engine-turning, applied with a cabochon chalcedony and ruby, struck to the mount with workmaster's initials, 56 standard, scratched inventory number 17317
length 2 ⅞ in.
3.7 cm
Acquired from the London Branch of Fabergé by Mr. Jones on 14 February 1911 (cost price 75 roubles);
With A La Vielle Russie, New York;
Acquired before 1970 by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Crosby, Hillsborough
New York, A La Vielle Russie, Inc., Faberge, A Loan Exhibition for the benefit of The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, April 22 – May 21, 1983, no.290, p.91
Exhibition catalogue, Faberge, A Loan Exhibition for the benefit of The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, A La Vielle Russie, Inc., 1983, p.91, no.290
The Mr. Jones who purchased this kovsh from the London branch of Fabergé could possibly refer to champion jockey Herbert Jones (1880-1951). During his illustrious career, he became only one of fifteen jockeys to win the British Triple Crown, and often rode for King Edward VII. In 1909, he rode the King's horse, Minoru, to a historic Derby victory - the first time the race had ever been won by a horse owned by a British monarch. The day is recanted as one of the happiest days of King Edward VII's life and the jubilation was immense. Henry Bainbridge, manager of Fabergé’s London branch, sought to commemorate the moment by creating an enamel portrait of the champion horse, underscoring the event’s significance for the King. (K. McCarthy, Fabergé in London: The British Branch of the Imperial Russian Goldsmith, London, 2017, p. 132).