Faberge: The Twilight Years

Faberge: The Twilight Years introduces an incredible album of rare drawings from Carl Faberge’s leading workshop in St Petersburg that have come to light in the National Archive of Finland by pure chance. The album, stored unnoticed in the archive for almost a century, contains beautifully watercoloured drawings of objects produced by Faberge during the period 1914 – 1917, among these a whole array of elegant cigarette cases, table clocks and enchanting flower studies. Most of the drawings have a completion date, which means that the finished object exists somewhere. This has sparked a treasure hunt for these pieces. A great number of objects matching the drawings have been found and are illustrated in the book. Altogether eleven well known experts on the oeuvre of Faberge have written fascinating essays related to the drawings, their history, provenance, style and technique. These contributions make the book an important addition to our knowledge and understanding of the art of the great St Petersburg jeweller.

Author Biography

Faberge: The Twilight Years is conceived and edited by Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, great granddaughter of the St Petersburg jeweller Alexander Tillander, a supplier to the Imperial Russian Court. Ulla has been researching the oeuvre of Russian jewellers for many years and her doctoral dissertation was on the labyrinthine and intriguing award system of Imperial Russia. Her work takes her around the world: lecturing, consulting for art exhibitions and writing in exhibition catalogues. She has published several books on her specialty, the art of the jewellers of Imperial St Petersburg.