Sparsely catalogued with a $600-900 estimate, it was competed for by multiple bidders who recognised its pedigree. It belongs to a rare subset of works that combine jewelled metal mounts made at Fabergé’s Moscow branch with art pottery created by ceramicists at the Imperial Stroganov School.
The two studios worked together after Stroganov School wares were awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Paris exhibition for its experimental glazes – typified by the metallic ‘lava’ glaze to this vase.
The silver mounts of helmeted warriors on horseback set with jewelled cabochons are in the pan-Slavic style favoured by turn-of-the-century Moscow merchant families. In addition to a presentation inscription in Cyrillic to the rim, the base carries a series of impressed factory marks including the date 1903.
Ceramic objects with silver mounts by Fabergé’s Moscow workshops (many carrying marks for the workmaster Julius Rappoport) are rare.
This example received 66 bids at the auction on June 18-19 before it was hammered down to an internet bidder at $115,000 (plus 23% buyer’s premium) – 157 times its high estimate.
