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Lot Essay
Elephants were among Fabergé’s most popular subjects for hardstone animal carvings. The present model, carved in kalgan jasper, showcases the careful attention Fabergé’s modellers paid to the selection of materials, choosing stones with natural qualities that best complemented the form and character of the animal.
This elephant is one of a small group humorously carved in playful acrobatic poses, variously depicted standing four-square, seated on their haunches, or balancing on their forelegs (see the kalgan jasper elephant from the Harry Woolf Collection, sold at Christie's, London, 29 November 2021, lot 4).
For an identical elephant in obsidian from the Wernher Collection, see A. K. Snowman, The Art of Carl Fabergé, London, 1953, pl. 246.
This elephant is one of a small group humorously carved in playful acrobatic poses, variously depicted standing four-square, seated on their haunches, or balancing on their forelegs (see the kalgan jasper elephant from the Harry Woolf Collection, sold at Christie's, London, 29 November 2021, lot 4).
For an identical elephant in obsidian from the Wernher Collection, see A. K. Snowman, The Art of Carl Fabergé, London, 1953, pl. 246.