Faberge: Lost and Found : The Recently Discovered Jewelry Designs from the St. Petersburg Archives [Hardcover]

A. Kenneth Snowman (Author), Peter Carl Faberge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

For more than 25 years, Carl Faberge and his firm served as jeweller and goldsmith to the tsars of Russia, European royalty, and the powerful and influential throughout the world. The masterpieces created by Faberge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are almost legendary treasures of superb workmanship and originality. A. Kenneth Snowman tells the story of his recent and astonishing discovery in St Petersburg of two of the original design books from the House of Faberge. Within their pages are countless meticulous watercolour and ink drawings of virtually every item made by the company from 1909 to 1915. Each design is dated and accompanied by detailed handwritten instructions as to composition and execution. Hundreds of these invaluable and incredibly beautiful drawings are reproduced here for the first time, most in full colour, with captions describing the gems, the materials to be used, and the date of manufacture. Often the actual finished pieces are photographed next to the original drawings. Among the ingenious marvels are those commissioned for the 300th anniversary celebration of the House of Romanoff, and the famous miniature and large Imperial Easter eggs, including the one owned by Queen Elizabeth II. Gold boxes, animal and bird carvings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and diadems are amongst the jewels on display. A. Kenneth Snowman was curator and wrote the catalogues for the Faberge exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1977 and the Coopor-Hewitt Museum, New York, in 1983. He has written and edited many other books, including "The Master Jewelers" (Thames and Hudson, 1990).

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For readers acquainted only with Faberge's jewel-encrusted eggs, the graceful, dainty pendants, brooches, and diadems shown here reveal the more utilitarian aspects of the famous house's business of catering to aristocratic taste. Delicate hand-colored drawings reproduced from two recently discovered design stock books dating from 1909 to 1915--many accompanied by photos of the finished products, on loan from their owners--form the bulk of the book. By his own admission, however, Snowman ( The Master Jewelers , LJ 10/15/90; Carl Faberge : Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia , LJ 10/15/79) merely repeats and expands upon his September 1987 article in Apollo magazine: Out of the 205 illustrations in the book, more than 40 first appeared in Apollo , as did much of the text. Though this is a beautifully made book, in view of the availability of the Apollo article and the narrow topic, only libraries with strong interest in Faberge or comprehensive decorative art collections need to acquire it.
- Therese D. Baker, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; First edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810933071
• ISBN-13: 978-0810933071
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,471,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original Faberge designs, October 11, 2000

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faberge: Lost and Found : The Recently Discovered Jewelry Designs from the St. Petersburg Archives (Hardcover)

This book reproduces 2 original faberge design books found in St Petersburg. They cover the years 1909 to 1915. Before Faberge sold an item they drew it in these ledgers in watercolour and noted all the details of the stones and materials it was made of.

Many of the designs are for tiaras, fans, broaches etc. In some cases they have been matched up with the original pieces so you get to see both the drawing and what was actually made.

This book is interesting for the different view it gives you of faberge objects. It is also a new source of information. It is not heavy on text and instead concentrates on reproducing the ledgers in colour.