.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This rare and important silver frame containing a portrait of Emperor Nicholas II is clearly visible in a photograph of the 1902 Von Dervis Exhibition in St. Petersburg, where it appears among other works belonging to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Nicholas II. The exhibition was held only for a week from 8 to 15 March 1902, and was organized under the patronage of Alexandra Feodorovna in aid of the Imperial Women’s Patriotic Society Schools.
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Grand Duchesses, and members of the aristocracy, many of them prominent patrons of Fabergé, exhibited treasures from their private collections. The exhibition was a great success, and the collection of the Imperial Easter Eggs by Fabergé attracted particular interest from visitors. The event was documented by the celebrated photographer Carl Bulla (1855-1929), whose photographs serve as an invaluable historical record, especially for objects with Imperial provenance.
A photograph of the Silver Salon at the Winter Palace, taken circa 1900, features the present frame within the interior. Another photograph from the album of Nicholas II, taken in the same room in January/February 1901, depicts Grand Duchess Victoria Melita and her daughter, Princess Elisabeth, together with Nicholas II’s daughters Maria, Olga and Tatiana, with the frame clearly visible on the side table (courtesy of Anna and Vincent Palmade).
In the 1902 exhibition photograph, the present frame appears alongside a large silver-mounted ceramic vase decorated with sweet pea pods and a bowenite lamp. Both objects came from the private apartments of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo and are now in the collection of the Pavlovsk Museum (see R. Gafifullin, Fabergé Items of the Late 19th-Early 20th Century in the Collection of the State Museum of Pavlovsk, vol. IX, part I, St. Petersburg, 2013, pp. 35, 40).
One of the early Hammer Galleries catalogues from the late 1930s to early 1940s confirms that the present frame was formerly part of Alexandra Feodorovna’s personal collection at the Alexander Palace. It was almost certainly sold to Armand Hammer by the Soviet government in the late 1920s to early 1930s, during a period when he acquired significant quantities of Russian works of art from Soviet authorities, including objects from the personal collections of the Romanov family.
The portrait of Nicholas II is by Dmitri Benckendorff (1844-1919) and was painted after a 1896 portrait by Ernest Liphart (1847-1932). Benckendorff worked primarily in watercolor and was renowned for his historical compositions, detailed depictions of Russian military uniforms, and accomplished watercolor copies after Old Master paintings.
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Grand Duchesses, and members of the aristocracy, many of them prominent patrons of Fabergé, exhibited treasures from their private collections. The exhibition was a great success, and the collection of the Imperial Easter Eggs by Fabergé attracted particular interest from visitors. The event was documented by the celebrated photographer Carl Bulla (1855-1929), whose photographs serve as an invaluable historical record, especially for objects with Imperial provenance.
A photograph of the Silver Salon at the Winter Palace, taken circa 1900, features the present frame within the interior. Another photograph from the album of Nicholas II, taken in the same room in January/February 1901, depicts Grand Duchess Victoria Melita and her daughter, Princess Elisabeth, together with Nicholas II’s daughters Maria, Olga and Tatiana, with the frame clearly visible on the side table (courtesy of Anna and Vincent Palmade).
In the 1902 exhibition photograph, the present frame appears alongside a large silver-mounted ceramic vase decorated with sweet pea pods and a bowenite lamp. Both objects came from the private apartments of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo and are now in the collection of the Pavlovsk Museum (see R. Gafifullin, Fabergé Items of the Late 19th-Early 20th Century in the Collection of the State Museum of Pavlovsk, vol. IX, part I, St. Petersburg, 2013, pp. 35, 40).
One of the early Hammer Galleries catalogues from the late 1930s to early 1940s confirms that the present frame was formerly part of Alexandra Feodorovna’s personal collection at the Alexander Palace. It was almost certainly sold to Armand Hammer by the Soviet government in the late 1920s to early 1930s, during a period when he acquired significant quantities of Russian works of art from Soviet authorities, including objects from the personal collections of the Romanov family.
The portrait of Nicholas II is by Dmitri Benckendorff (1844-1919) and was painted after a 1896 portrait by Ernest Liphart (1847-1932). Benckendorff worked primarily in watercolor and was renowned for his historical compositions, detailed depictions of Russian military uniforms, and accomplished watercolor copies after Old Master paintings.