Cleveland Museum of Art

Flower Study of a Pansy

House of Fabergé

Date

c. 1885–1915

Medium

gold, jade, enamel, rock crystal

Culture

Russia, St. Petersburg

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This flower study depicts a pansy in bloom. Fabergé’s inspiration for his flower studies is said to have come from the floral brooches of precious stones that were made in the 1700s for Catherine the Great as well as from the Japanese art of flower arranging, known as ikebana. Small and delicate, Fabergé’s flower studies were given as intimate gifts to friends by the tsarina and others in the court. She also liked to take them around to wherever the imperial family was residing as a reminder of spring during the harsh Russian winters. The stems of Fabergé’s flower studies are set into little basins carved from rock crystal to resemble pots of water.

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