The Kangaroo with its Young in Pouch
The original of this animal sculpture is in the Queen’s Collection housed at Buckingham Palace. The original commission for most of the animals, placed by King Edward VII of England in 1907, was for a large assortment of animals. Many of these were sculpted from life at Sandringham, the country estate of King Edward and his Queen, Alexandra (Alexandra, you may recall, was the sister to Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, mother of Tsar Nicholas II).

Queen Alexandra was inordinately fond of animals and actually kept a zoo at Sandringham in addition to her beloved dogs and horses and the farm animals of the estate. The sculptors were sent by Fabergé from Russia and lived on the estate at Sandringham while they were preparing their wax models. The models were then shipped back to Russia and the carvings made over a period of several years. When completed, they were returned to the London shop of Fabergé which handled the entire sale. The Kangaroo pictured here was not available until after Edward's death, and was then sold to King George V in 1913.

The Kangaroo is hand carved of Siberian Jade, and both Mother and Baby have diamond eyes.

Retail: $500.00. Our price: $449.90.