The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Imperial Framed Miniatures

Imperial Framed Miniatures

1896
miniature painted by

Johannes Zehngraf

(Russian, 1857–1908)
(Russian, 1860–1903)
(Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg
jade, gold, rubies, gouache, ivory, glass
Overall: 15.3 x 5 x 5 cm (6 x 1 15/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.458
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

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. .

Description

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.
  • 1896-1918
    Tsar Nicholas II [1868-1918] and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna [1872-1918], purchased from the maker, November 22, 1896 (by tsarina) and December 18, 1896 (by tsar), Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Russia
    1918-1922
    Provisional Russian Government, Kremlin, Moscow
    ?-1948
    (The Schaffer Collection of Russian Imperial Art Treasures [A La Vieille Russie, Inc.], New York, NY), sold to India Early Minshall, 1948.
    1948-1966
    India Early Minshall [1885-1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Imperial provenance discovered in Russian state ledgers by Kieran McCarthy, Wartski, London, 2019.
  • 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. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 24-5; cat. 8 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996 Mentioned and reproduced: p. 107, cat. 83 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Hawley, Henry H., "Jeweler to the Czars", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 37 no. 03, March 1997 Mentioned and reproduced: p. 4 archive.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: p. 178, cat. 59, fig. 64 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • Fabergé: Romance to Revolution. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (November 20, 2021-May 8, 2022) https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/faberge.
    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).
    Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
    Faberge 1846 - 1920. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (June 23-October 23, 1977).
    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).
    Charity Exhibition of Fabergé Artistic Objects, Old Miniatures, and Snuff Boxes (Выставка художественных произведений К. Фаберже в особняке П.П. фон Дервиза, Санкт-Петербург). Baron von Dervis Mansion, Saint Petersburg, Russia (March 1902).
  • {{cite web|title=Imperial Framed Miniatures|url=false|author=Johannes Zehngraf, Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin, House of Fabergé|year=1896|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.458