Lot 1768: A very fine Faberge silver and shaded cloisonné

A very fine Faberge silver and shaded cloisonné enamel Imperial presentation kovsh, the circular bowl with a hook handle, painted with a continuous band of pink and white flower heads on black stems, and with green scrolling leaves on a pale yellow ground, four flowers with cabochon stone centres, the lip and base in powder blue and olive green, decorated with raised lines and pellets, with three further cabochons under the lip and one on the handle, 20 cm. long, by Fedor Rückert with Faberge's inventory number 20420, in a fitted Faberge holly wood case. Sold with a letter from Buckingham Palace dated April 3, 1907 to an unknown person stating its presentation by the Dowager Empress, Marie Fedorovna (see card) 410 grams, marked for St Petersburg 1899-1908. See Christies Geneva May 9 1979, lot 192. Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm says it's extremely doubtful the Russian archives will provide the detail we need, Marie usually took a bunch of items with her on her travels and only decided who would get what when she left.Ulla says the fact that the Kovsh was presented after Marie left should not be a worry. This happened often. She would have left instructions with Queen Alexandria's servants about what was to be given to whom. Vickers & Hoad acknowledge the help of Will Lowes Senior author, Faberge Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopaedia (Scarecrow Press, 2001) & Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm.