54 - ALFRED THIELEMANN FOR FABERGÉ, A CITRINE AND DIAMOND MINIATURE EGG PENDANT

ALFRED THIELEMANN FOR FABERGÉ, A CITRINE AND DIAMOND MINIATURE EGG PENDANT ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1880-1900 Designed as a miniature egg with a smoothly polished cabochon citrine body, capped with a fluted crown set with rose-cut diamonds, its tabs following the curve of the stone. Suspended from a connector ring and bail. Workmaster's mark 'AT' for Alfred Thielemann With silver mount and gold loop and bail Size/dimensions: 2.20cm long (including bail); 1.11cm wide Gross weight: 3.02g All diamonds are present and securely set. The citrine shows some small scratches and pits, noticeable only under magnification, and characteristic colour zoning in straight bands. The mount shows small signs of wear, but the piece is offered in very good overall condition. Provenance Princess Marie Louise of Orléans (1896-1973), later Mrs Walter F. Kingsland By gift to the present owner Family provenance; no documentary evidence accompanies the lot. The family believe the charms may have belonged to Princess Marie Louise as a girl. Found attached to the chain of the evening bag offered as lot 103, together with the Cartier charm offered as lot 6. In Imperial Russia, Easter was the most important festival of the year, celebrated with the exchange of eggs and the traditional greeting “Christ is risen”. Among the wealthy, the humble painted egg was transformed into a jewel. Miniature egg pendants in gold, enamel and hardstone were given at Easter, and a young woman might receive one each year, threading them onto a chain until a necklace recorded the Easters of her life. The Imperial Easter eggs that Fabergé made for the Tsars were the most spectacular expression of this custom, but the miniature eggs, made in great variety and at every price, were among the firm’s most popular creations. Fabergé’s jewellery was produced in two principal workshops in St Petersburg, one controlled by August Holmström and the other by Alfred Thielemann, a craftsman born in the city to German parents. Thielemann ran his workshop until his death between 1908 and 1910, when his son Karl Rudolph took it over.