A rare look at the exquisite world of Russian treasures that lies beyond Fabergé. Imperial Russia evokes images of a vanished courts unparalleled splendor: magnificent tiaras, gem-encrusted necklaces, snuff boxes and other diamond-studded baubles of the tsars and tsarinas. During that time, jewelry symbolized power and wealth, and no one knew this better than the Romanovs. The era marked the high point of the Russian jewelers' art. Beginning with Catherine I's reign in 1725, in the century when women ruled Russia, until the Russian Revolution of 1917, the imperial capital's goldsmiths perfected their craft, and soon the quality of Russias jewelry equaled, if not surpassed, the best that Europes capitals could offer. Who created these jewels that helped make the Russian Court the richest in Europe? Hint: it wasn't Carl Fabergé. This is the first systematic survey in any language of all the leading jewelers and silver masters of Imperial Russia. The authors skillfully unfold for us the lives, histories, creations, and makers marks of the artisans whose jewels and silver masterworks bedazzled the tsars. The previously unheralded names include Pauzié, Bolin, Hahn, Koechli, Seftigen, Marshak, Morozov, Nicholls & Plincke, Grachev, Sazikov, and many others. The market for these exquisite masterworks is also explored, from its beginnings to today's auction world and collector demand. More than 600 stunning photos reacquaint the world with the master artisans and their creations.

The first book to be dedicated to the British branch of Faberge, covering its fascinating history from its opening in 1903, to its closure in 1917. Royalty, Aristocrats, American heiresses, exiled Russian Grand Dukes, Randlords, Maharajas, Socialites and financiers with newly made fortunes flocked to Faberge in London to buy gifts for each other. This book is the first dedicated to the glittering history of Faberge's British branch, from its opening in 1903 to its closure in 1917. The Imperial Russian Goldsmith's London branch was the only one outside of Russia and its jewelled and enamelled contents were as popular there as they were in St. Petersburg or Moscow. Using previously unreferenced sources and a newly discovered archive of papers relating to Faberge in London, Kieran McCarthy studies the branch's structure, customers and exclusive stock. The most expensive sale made by Faberge in London, of a diamond tiara priced for £1400, cost one hundred times the annual wage of a scullery maid. It will be of interest to enthusiasts of the decorative arts, the social history of the Edwardian Golden Age and especially of European Royalty. Faberge's works were and continue to be intimately associated with the British Royal Family. For Violet Trefusis, daughter of King Edward VII's mistress Mrs. Keppel and lover of Vita Sackville-West, A Faberge cigarette case was the emblem of Royalty, as symbolical as the bookies cigar, or the ostler's straw. AUTHOR: Kieran McCarthy is a director of Wartski, the London Court Jewellers who specialises in the work of Carl Faberge. He is on the advisory board of the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg, is a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths' and a fellow of the Gemmological Association. He has written and lectured extensively about Carl Faberge. He advises collectors and institutions on Faberge's work and recently revealed the rediscovery of one of the lost Imperial Faberge Easter Eggs. 191 colour, 86 b/w

In the 11th century, Kiev closely adhered to the Byzantine traditions in producing the first Russian enamels. Progress was interrupted by the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. There was, however, a revival of the arts in the 16th century, and during the 17th century the Kremlin Armory in Moscow and various northern trading centers emerged as major bases for the manufacture of liturgical and secular enamels, while the program of westernization initiated by Peter the Great in the early 18th century attracted foreign artisans who brought their own techniques to the capital, St Petersburg. The 19th century closed with a dichotomy of styles: classicizing, courtly traditions flourished in St Petersburg, as demonstrated in the art of pre-eminent master Carl Faberge. However, Moscow served as the heart of the Russian Revival movement, and the vibrantly colored and exotic-looking revival enamels are also prized by collectors today.

The preeminent master goldsmith of turn-of-the-century Russia was Peter Carl Faberge. He is best remembered for extraordinary Easter eggs, breathtakingly crafted of gold, silver, enamel and precious stones. 48 full-color illustrations.

This is the first book to show the development of Russian architecture over the past thousand years as a part of the history of Western architecture. Dmitry Shvidkovsky, Russia’s leading architectural historian, departs from the accepted notion that Russian architecture developed independent of outside cultural influences and demonstrates that, to the contrary, the influence of the West extends back to the tenth century and continues into the present. He offers compelling assessments of all the main masterpieces of Russian architecture and frames a radically new architectural history for Russia. The book systematically analyzes Russian buildings in relation to developments in European art, pointing out where familiar European features are expressed in Russian projects. Special attention is directed toward decorations based on Byzantine models; the heritage of Italian master builders and carvers; the impact of architects and others sent by Elizabeth I; the formation of the Russian Imperial Baroque; the Enlightenment in Russian art; and 19th- and 20th-century European influences. With over 300 specially commissioned photographs of sites throughout Russia and western Europe, this magnificent book is both beautiful and groundbreaking.

An informative guide to Russian Decorative Arts and their historical context Covers a wide range of crafts including Fabergé, jewelry, woodwork, hardstone, glass and porcelain, as well as precious metal Explores pre-Revolutionary Russia, discussing various artifacts of the Tsarist era as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries with particular focus on the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries Ideal for both novice and established collectors of the field Russia's last great Imperial celebration took place at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg with the lavish ball of 1913 celebrating 300 years of Romanov rule. The finest gowns, jewels, snuff boxes, and banqueting tableware of the Tsarist era were sumptuously displayed then for the last time. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought such opulence to an end. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians have been eager to repatriate their lost heritage. Works by jewelers and silversmiths to the Tsars are particularly sought after today as status symbols, with the market for pre-Revolutionary decorative arts touching a wide audience - from the curators at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, to the predawn bargain hunters at the Paris flea markets. Russian Decorative Arts offers an introductory guide to porcelain, glass, silver, Tula work and other base metals, orders and decorations, jewelry, objects of virtue, Fabergé, lapidary, woodwork and walrus ivory. Each topic is detailed in an illustrated chapter introducing the techniques, its specific Russian characteristics and an overview of the principle makers.

Think Faberge, and what comes to mind are images of fabulous, glittering jewelry, the mystery and allure of Europe's great royal courts and, of course, the magnificent Imperial Easter Eggs made for the Russian Tsars. Carl Faberge was, first and foremost, a goldsmith, and the exquisite objects that came out of the Faberge workshop at its peak represent the ultimate refinement of the goldsmith's art. Each piece was designed with the express purpose of bringing joy to its recipient. Accomplishments of the Faberge workshop were not limited to precious metals and lapidary work. Their enameling techniques consistently attained a subtlety adn brilliance of technique that had rarely been matched elsewhere - the work glows with richly colored enamels used with unrivaled virtuosity.