Cleveland Museum of Art

Imperial Framed Miniatures

Johannes Zehngraf

Date

1896

Medium

jade, gold, rubies, gouache, ivory, glass

Culture

Russia, St. Petersburg

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The giving of miniatures had long been a common practice among wealthy and aristocratic families by the time Fabergé began combining portraits with his richly decorated frames. The Russian imperial family delighted in having these personal mementos and commissioned many different miniatures to place around their private apartments, providing a warm family atmosphere in an otherwise highly formal existence. The tsar gave the miniature of himself to the tsarina, and in turn, she gave the miniature of their firstborn child, Grand Duchess Olga Nicoaievna to the tsar a year after their daughter's birth. .

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