LOT DETAILS

Materials:

silver

Measurements:

2.91 in. (7.40 cm.) (height)

Description:

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Markings:

apparently unmarked; wood case stamped 'Fabergé St Petersburg Moscow London' beneath the Imperial warrant

Condition:

the head and four legs attached to the body with screws, moves on wheels, nodding its head and moving its tail, with the original silver winding key; in the original silk and velvet-lined wood case

Exhibited:

Shanghai, Christie’s, October 2014. Minneapolis, The Museum of Russian Art, Unknown Fabergé: New Finds and Re-discoveries, 8 October 2016 – 26 February 2017, no. 21.

Literature:

A. von Solodkoff, et al., Masterpieces from the House of Fabergé, New York, 1984, p. 18 (illustrated). U. Tillander-Godenhielm, Fabergé: ja hänen suomalaiset mestarinsa, Helsinki, 2008, pp. 340–341. M. Moehrke, Unknown Fabergé: New Finds and Re-discoveries, Minneapolis, 2016, pp. 46-47, no. 21 (illustrated).

Provenance:

Probably purchased from the London branch of Fabergé by Lord Chamberlain, Lord Howe (1861-1929) on 3 November 1909 for £60, entered into ledgers under inventory number 17665. Then given to Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) for her sixty-fifth birthday in 1909 by Lord Howe. Then a possible gift from Queen Alexandra to her sister Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928) during one of her visits to England. A gift to Prince Vasili Alexandrovich (1907-1989) from his grandmother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna circa 1914-1915. Acquired by the father of the present owner from the descendants of Prince Vasili Alexandrovich in 2003.