SWEETMEAT, OR DRAGÉE, BOX
Silver, silver-gilt, cabochon sapphire, enamel
H. ¾ inch • W. 2¾ inches • D. 2⅛ inches
 
WORKMASTER: Unidentified

DATE: 1899–1905

PLACE: Moscow
 
MARKS OR SIGNATURES:
On the interior lid: kokoshnik head facing left, with the Cyrillic initials I.L., for Ivan Lebedkin, 84, all in an elliptical punch; K. FABERGÉ, in Cyrillic, in an oblong punch surmounted by a double-headed eagle hallmark partially obscured by the lug.

On the base: kokoshnik head facing left with the Cyrillic initials I.L., for Ivan Lebedkin, 84, all in an elliptical punch; K. FABERGÉ, in Cyrillic, in an oblong punch surmounted by a double-headed eagle.
Fabergé pieces in a fully developed French Art Nouveau style are relatively rare. When working in that newly regnant international decorative style, he frequently utilized lily-of-the-valley motifs since the plant’s foliage and bell-like pendant flowers were well suited to the mode.
 
The lily-of-the-valley was one of the first flowers of spring, which endeared it to the Russians since its appearance marked the reawakening of the earth after the brutal Russian winter. Educated Russians of the day were well versed in the language of flowers in which the lily-of-the-valley signified enduring love, marital bliss and a happy home. Such associations made objects bearing the flower as decoration eminently suitable for wedding, birth and anniversary presents.
Significantly, the affluent merchant class of Moscow appreciated the new Art Nouveau style more than aristocratic St. Petersburg circles, which continued to prefer historicizing revivals of French eighteenth century court styles or that of Emperor Napoléon I of France (r. 1804–1814).
 
The box is hallmarked with the Fabergé name surmounted by a double-headed eagle denoting the imperial warrant granted the firm by Tsar Alexander III in 1884. No workmaster’s initials appear since it was not the Moscow practice for a workmaster to hallmark the pieces he produced with his initials.
 
The interior of the box is gilded throughout.
 
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