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Fabergé Family Friends
One of the things that is most interesting about
the Fabergé family is its history and
the strong connection it has with the history
of Russia through ties to the Romanov family.
The connections of the Romanov family led to
other royal families of Europe, and like the
limbs of a tree the fame of Fabergé spread.
Tracing these familial relationships really
traces the international growth of Fabergé.
Since there was no advertising inidustry as
we know it in the late 1800's, advertising was
done by word of mouth, and so it was that international
demand for the goods of Fabergé developed.
The strength of that demand led to the House
of Fabergé opening a branch in London
in 1903, and because of the British Empire's
ties around the world and because London was
then probably the world's leading capital city,
the fame of Fabergé became known in court
circles worldwide. To this day one of the main
resources for original Fabergé pieces
is in London; Wartski's, established in 1865,
at 14 Grafton Street, is known world wide for
buying and selling the objects d'art of Fabergé.
One of our 'enthusiastic' collectors has been
kind enough to share his treasure trove of photographs
and personal knowledge of the Romanov family
and others associated with the art of Fabergé.
The information for each of these photographs
was provided by him and, with the exception
of a bit of editing, much of it was written
by him. Some of the images are personal pictures
that came to him through his family. His grandfather
was in service to the Tsar and gifts of family
photographs were often given as a 'thank you'
to those around the Romanov family. One of the
photographs came to him from a friend in England
whose grandfather was in service to George V.
It is a personal photograph taken by a family
member. The gentleman can be seen walking with
Queen Mary.
Below are some of the historical figures whose
names are part of the history of the House of
Fabergé.
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Queen Victoria of England, standing
behind her is her eldest son Albert, The
Prince of Wales, who would become King
three years after this photograph was
taken when Victoria died. Albert was crowned
as King Edward VII and his Queen was Alexandra,
the sister of Marie Fedorovna, Empress
of Russia. The sisters were Danish Princesses.
Nicholas II was the son of Marie Fedorovna
making King Edward VII his uncle. The
two monarchies were intertwined through
marriage. The infant in the photograph
is Grand Duchess Olga in her mother's
arms, the Empress Alexandra of Russia
and that is Tsar Nicholas standing behind
her.
Most interesting about this photograph:
Nicholas' children were the great grand-children
of Queen Victoria. One could say that
Queen Victoria was the 'mother' of the
crowned heads of Europe. |
Grand Duchesses
At right, the five children of Tsar
Nicholas and Empress Alexandra, all tragically
murdered at the hands of the Bolsheviks
early on in the Revolution. |
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King George V and Queen Mary of England.
George was the son of King Edward VII
who started the Fabergé hardstone
collection for his "long suffering"
wife, George's mother, Queen Alexandra
who loved animals hence the hardstone
animal collection. Queen Mary added to
it, as has Queen Elizabeth II. |
| Portrait of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
taken at the time of the coronation 1896
at Uspenski Cathdral, the Kremlin, Moscow.
She is wearing some of the famous Romanov
Jewel Collection including the Drop Pearl
Tiara. The majority of these pieces were
sold after the Bolshevik Revolution and
they have been lost over the years through
repeated sales and resettings. The Imperial
State Crown remains in Russia at the Armory
Museum in the Kremlin and some pieces of
the Collection are now in the possession
of Queen Elizabeth II of England. |
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Portrait of Empress Alexandra and her
daughters, the Grand Duchesses, 1913, taken
for the Romanov Tercentenary Celebrations. |
| Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana in 1913.
The girls were in their late teens when
this picture was taken. Tragically, they
would be dead within five years, savagely
assassinated in Ekaterinburg. |
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Queen Alexandra of England, consort to
King Edward VII, and sister of Tsarina Marie
Federovna of Russia. |
| Tsarevitch Alexei Nicolaevitch, taken
at the Alexander Palace, Tsarskoe Selo,
on the occasion of the Romanov Tercentenary
celebration, 1913. The only son of Tsar
Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra, the boy
suffered from hemophelia which came to him
from his mother and her grandmother, Queen
Victoria of England. The disease was pivotal
to the demise of the Romanov dynasty. |
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It is interesting to note how Russia and Great
Britain were so tied to each other through dynastic
marriages. Both sisters, the Queen and the Empress,
were great collectors of Fabergé -- the
Empress of Imperial Eggs, and the Queen of hardstone
figures.
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