formed as two stems with three blossoms and numerous leaves, the petals realistically formed and enameled en plein in delicately shaded matt enamels on a gold ground evoking the fine gradations of colors of the violet’s petals, each flower centered with a diamond, the sepals enameled transparent green, the leaves carved of nephrite, the stems finely hatched, resting in a round rock crystal pot, apparently unmarked apart from scratched inventory number 11610 on one stem

the delicate tones of the original enamel on the petals superb; some wear to gilding on stems, one leaf replaced
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Conceived in part as elegant antidotes to the bleak harshness of winter, precious objects in the form of floral sprays have a long history in Russia, dating at least to the mid-18th century. Court jeweler Jérémie Pauzié created dazzling gem-set bouquets to be worn pinned to clothing; eventually rock crystal pots were created to display them on their own. The tradition continued in the early 19th century with the workshop of the Duval Brothers, whose creations include an important pearl-set branch of lilies in a rock crystal vase now in the Hermitage (Inv. No. E-1958). Fabergé’s flower studies are at their most inspiring, as in the case of the offered lot, when the most precious materials are used to display a fresh, delicate simplicity, an illusion at odds with the meticulous exactitude with which they were designed and crafted. As Peter Carl Fabergé himself noted in an interview with the Russian magazine Stolitsa i usadba (Town and Country), sometimes “it is awkward to give expensive jewels” and the flower studies provided an elegant alternative.

The present lot is among a small number of violet studies known. The most closely related is the violet in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art (see M. Swezey, Fabergé Flowers, 2004, pp. 76-77; CMA 1966.442.) Although it represents a later stage of growth, the similarity of the shape of the petals, the inclusion of an enameled calyx, nephrite leaves, and painstakingly hatched stem of gilded silver suggest the two studies are closely related. A second, similarly closely related violet study is held by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (see G. von Habsburg, Fabergé Revealed, NY, 2011, p. 216, no. 109; VMFA 47.20.238), although the nephrite leaves are constructed to slide onto the stem with a single ring. A third spray of violets with charmingly enameled leaves is held by A la Vieille Russie, NY (Fabergé Flowers, p. 116). The provenance for this and the other violet studies remains to be established. The firm’s invoices offer little help: they tend to specify only that a “flower” (tsvetok) was purchased. However, in his research on Fabergé’s flower studies, Valentin Skurlov discovered that in 1920, Soviet authorities took four Fabergé flowers, including an enameled violet in a rock crystal vase, from the home of I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, a former Minister of the Imperial Court (see V. Skurlov, “In Search of Fabergé Flowers in Russia,” in Fabergé Flowers, op cit., p. 105).