The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Flower Study of a Miniature Lily of the Valley

Flower Study of a Miniature Lily of the Valley

c. 1885–1915
(Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg
pearls, jade, rock crystal, gold, diamonds
Overall: 5.1 x 2.3 cm (2 x 7/8 in.)
The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.445
Location: 211 Fabergé

Did You Know?

Small and delicate, Fabergé’s flower studies were given as intimate gifts to friends by Tsarina Alexandra and others in the court. She kept them in all the palaces as a reminder of spring during the harsh Russian winters.

Description

A small, carved rock crystal vase holds this lily of the valley study. The pearls, forming the flower’s buds, are drilled and attached to the remarkably slim gold stem. The hand-cut nephrite (jade) leaves enhance the naturalistic aura of the flower. 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.
  • ?-1966
    India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hawley, Henry H. Fabergé and His Contemporaries: The India Early Minshall Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Reproduced: p. 77; Mentioned: p. 79, cat. 37. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 110-11, cat. 92. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Swezey, Marilyn Pfeifer, Caroline de Guitaut, and Joyce Lasky Reed. Fabergé Flowers. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, 2004. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 74-5. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Harrison, Stephen, Emmanuel Ducamp, and Jeannine J. Falino. Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 180-181, cat. 73. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2008-January 18, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 7-May 31, 2009).
    Fabergé in America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (February 12-May 5, 1996); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (organizer) (May 25-July 28, 1996); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (August 24-November 2, 1996); New Orleans Museum of Art (December 7, 1996-February 8, 1997); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-May 11, 1997).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
    The India Early Minshall Collection: Faberge and his Contemporaries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 1967-January 21, 1968).
  • {{cite web|title=Flower Study of a Miniature Lily of the Valley|url=false|author=House of Fabergé|year=c. 1885–1915|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.445