Minister of jewellery

"Faberge" is a minister of jewellery". “From the history of the firm". M.: "Rus-Olimp", 2006.

Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand once said to Carl Faberge:” With your intellect you could have been a minister in my government”. “Anything but this, Your Majesty! – Faberge waved his hands. – However, if it is a Ministry of jewellery, I agree”.

Carl Faberge headed the largest jewelry enterprise in the World with an annual turnover of several million rubles, at which more than 600 employees worked. Even when he was alive, the jeweler had achieved the World glory. There are memoirs of his contemporaries about a remarkable personality, life and activity of this outstanding practical figure and theorist of jewellery. The value of recollections is even higher since the firm archive has not been found so far: it is either destroyed, or hidden by its owners after the events of 1917.

The book written by his great granddaughter Tatyana Faberge and Valentin Skurlov is dedicated to the 160^th anniversary of the birthday of the founder of the World famous “Faberge House”. The book contains memoirs of Franz Petrovich Birbaum, head master of the Faberge Company. Recollections of people associated with the Faberge firm (for example, a daughter of a Moscow firm office director), extracts from newspapers dating to the end of the XIX century and other archival documents and also lively illustrations, many of which are published for the first time will help a reader reconstruct the broad picture of life of that time.

It is the first popular edition of the history of the firm written by chief master Franz Birbaum. Scientific comments are twice as much as the manuscript size of 1919. The number of copies is 5000. In 1992 the first addition was available only to experts.

The book of 1997 “Faberge and Petersburg jewelers” (3000 copies) was distributed among experts. Now it is a rare book. The second difference is colored illustrations by painter Anatoly Perevyshko. There have been a lot books about Faberge, but nobody has placed colored pictures instead of photos. The third difference is that the data regarding biographies of painter- masters was specified.

In the history of the Russian Jewellery there has not been any other figure to cause such mixed emotions. The name of Faberge, his corporate style and works of his House are perceived by some with admiration, others stigmatize for bad taste, and not only jewelry masterpieces themselves, but mostly those who belong to a category of their faithful admirers. The main impulse to a broad celebrity was the affinity with the Imperial House of the Romavov: Carl Faberge had an honorable title of His Majesty Supplier. Most of those representatives of the Romanov who lived at the same time with Faberge and who were his customers have a tragic fate, therefore there is a keen interest in them, and in those who stood close and particularly created the epoch style, the last style prior to falling into the abyss of “proletarian culture”. The blood massacre of the last emperor of Russia as if reflected on jewelries made by order of the Royal family...

The most famous purchase in the antique market of the Russian art added fuel to the fire of passions around the Russian-Swiss family of jewelers – the acquisition by a Russian oligarch of the collection of the Forbs family where the lion’s share were the works of the Faberge House (including the famous Christmas eggs). The expression “Faberge style” itself is undoubtedly a synonym of a certain highest level in jewellery. However, in order to judge impartially we know little about what lies in the basis of this high reputation.

That’s why the publication of “Faberge is a minister of jewellery”. From the history of the firm” appears very appropriate.

In the foreword V. Skurlov excitingly and in detail describes how his researches were being advanced and what findings were made in that process. In addition, the study of firm history has led to acquaintance with founder’s descendants: Oleg Faberge living in Helsinki and his niece Tatyana Faberge who lives now in Geneva. This family memory keeper who happened to come to the native land of forefathers in Switzerland together with V. Skurlov was a co-author of the publication.

However, the central place in the book was rightfully occupied by the memoirs of firm art director Franz Birbaum, which has been published for the first time in full. They are published based on the manuscript which Valentin Skurlov managed to find in 1990 in the archive of academician A. Fersman. A detailed story describing masterhood secrets is mixed with psychological observations “from the life of high Russian society” and extracts from other sources allowing us to see both the creative personality of Carl Faberge and his talent of an organizer enabling him to manage enterprises in a modern and rational manner. In addition to all his talents the “minister of jewellery” possessed a subtle sense of humor, sometimes affording sarcastic jokes with important clients, whose taste and pungency of wit was not always perfect.

Says Tatyana Faberge:
- I knew very well Carl Faberge’s sons who lived in Paris: Eugene Carlovich and Alexander Petrovich Faberge. They told me a lot about Carl Gustavich, but the main credit should be given to my father who worked with Eugene and tried to restore the goldsmithery of the legendary firm. I assisted him and worked as a designer.

Carl Faberge died 10 years before my birthday. I was told that he was ardently keen on his work and he was a workaholic. He was an exacting manager and sensitive to firm employees. He was found of hunting and cooking. He possessed a good sense of humor, but could not stand stupid people.

The unicity of Faberge’s talent consists of various directions of his activity, his ability to always find something new. He is characterized by a magnificent quality of jewelries, numerous enamel colours and very interesting rock cut figures in which a remarkable sense of humor can be seen.

He is famous for his Christmas eggs which he made for the Imperial family. Once chose this theme he raised it on an unprecedented height. His firm survived before the revolution in particular due to his works at all directions of the jewelry creativity. He worked in all niches, founded new areas. For example, electric bells and bulbs, thermometers and absolutely new jewelries.

Carl Faberge took part in the Paris exhibition in 1900 as a jury member. His works were demonstrated hors concours and were distinguished by the Guild of Paris Jewellers which awarded a title of maestro to him. He was awarded a Legion of Honour in December 1900 for participating in the jury work.

Carl Faberge died in 1920, two years after he was expelled from Russia. Like many emigrants he thought that he could return to Russia.

Says Valentin Skurlov:
I think that several key events have changed the course of my life. The most important one is acquaintance with Tatyana Faberge in 1990. In January that year I was lucky to find in the archive the memoirs of Franz Birbaum. The manuscript has been waiting its hour since 1919. We composed a catalogue of Imperial eggs; it was of not only scientific historical, but commercial importance. To compose a complete list of painter’s works (catalogue) is a dream of any art historian. The third achievement as I believe is determination of role of firm inventory numbers (they were scratched on items) and a clue to technique of their designation. Our dream is to create a Databank of all Faberge’s assortment.

There are enough blind spots in the Faberge history. Science closes one question and opens another ten. Faberge is an outer space. Until 1988 literature about Faberge was “for official use only” – the name of the court jeweler was under a ban. Many archival documents got lost; people who knew something and could have said about him had passed away. In early 1919 chekists collected stock books of all jewelry firms. Using clients’ addresses they confiscated diamonds, gold and silver. These books have not been found yet. Clients could not say anything. Their destiny is prison. Many painters and masters emigrated or fled. Carl’s grandfather was a member of French colony in Schwedt-on-Oder. French, Germans, Swedes and Italians, but Carl Faberge was a Russian!

Carl Faberge considered himself a Russian, a man of the Russian culture. There are written evidence of that.

I have known Tatyana Faberge for 16 years. She like Carl Faberge likes to do everything in a perfect manner (“perfectionist”). Her characteristic features are will power, sense of purpose. “Difficulties are intended to be overcome” (an expression of Carl Faberge), concerns her as well.

Tatyana Faberge is the only member of Faberge family who continues to study the history of the firm and family, she is an archive keeper.

Tatyana Faberge wrote five books and a great number of scientific articles on the Faberge history, she speaks five foreign languages. She is easy to deal with. She is a person of high and wide culture, attentive. Due to the influence of her mother, nee Sheremetyeva she is an inborn aristocrat. She likes and understands humor. We can talk about her traits for a long time, but it will be characteristics of Carl himself.
Rough&Polished