Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
VARIOUS PROPERTIES
Lot 83≈
A gold and jewelled lorgnetteFabergé, workmaster Oscar Pihl, St. Petersburg, circa 1899
Amended
5 June 2013, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £25,000 inc. premium
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A gold and jewelled lorgnette
Fabergé, workmaster Oscar Pihl, St. Petersburg, circa 1899
the handle enriched with foliate motifs set with oil on board miniature portraits of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna each beneath hinged covers applied with Cyrillic cypher, extremities set with garnet cabochons,
56 standard length: 12.5cm (4 15/16in).
the handle enriched with foliate motifs set with oil on board miniature portraits of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna each beneath hinged covers applied with Cyrillic cypher, extremities set with garnet cabochons,
56 standard length: 12.5cm (4 15/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE:
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, Geneva, 27 May 1993, addendum lot 229x (listed as the property of a German Princely family)
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892), second son of Nicholas I and younger brother of Alexander II, married Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg in 1848. His wife took the name Alexandra Iosifovna upon her conversion to Orthodoxy and went on to have six children.
Considered a wilful child, a tutor was chosen for the young Grand Duke to direct him towards a Naval career. Count Frederick von Lutke was the youngest man to have circumvented the globe and his recollections of sea faring life inspired his student who went on to serve as General-Admiral and then head of the Naval Ministry, modernizing the Russian fleet and retiring wooden warships in favour of new iron and steel vessels.
Konstantin's reforming spirit extended to his outspoken advocacy for the emancipation of the serfs, levying harsh criticism against the conservative aristocrats who attempted to block his brother, Alexander II's, most contentious amendment until it passed in 1861. Between 1862 and 1864, Konstantin was appointed Viceroy of Poland, surviving an assassination attempt outside a Warsaw theatre. He returned to St. Petersburg where he served as President of the Council of State from 1865 until his retirement in 1881. In 1867 his influence on his brother was instrumental in persuading the monarch to sell Alaska to the United States.
Saleroom notices
Please note an amendment to the description of this lot. The extremities are set with rubies, and not garnets as stated in the catalogue.