Faberge's Inspiration

Faberge took inspiration from many different sources. Though famous for the Imperial Eggs, Faberge's workshops produced a wide variety of objects.

Peter Carl Faberge, the jeweler and businessman responsible for the famous Faberge Eggs, created unique items for his international clientele. Whole sets of silverware, figurines, jewelry, miniatures, and utilitarian objects were produced at Faberge’s workshops. Hundreds of items are still in existence today, and their variety and beauty of design are remarkable to behold. But where, exactly, did Faberge get his inspiration?

Nature

One of Faberge’s most popular set of items were life-like flowers, arranged eternally in rock-crystal vases, that looked as if they had been picked during a nature walk. A dandelion made of spun asbestos fibers and green nephrite is one exquisite example in the flower series. Careful studies of the original, live, plant were studied to achieve such realistic effects.

Miniature animals, carved from stones of all types, were also very popular. These animals were sometimes portraits of customers’ own animals. The best known collection is the one inspired from the farm animals at Sandringham in Norfolk, England. It includes a bull, dogs, pigs, and other animals.

Historical Object D’Art

Faberge was also inspired by his predecessors. The development of the beautiful enamel work that can be found in most of his pieces had its origins in French enamel work of centuries before. The enameling process Faberge developed included the use of new colors and the ability to work more effectively on a curved surface. Faberge was even praised by the French after an exhibit of his enamel work in Paris.

Few of Faberge’s figurine miniatures exist today, but Faberge’s inspiration for these folkloric or traditional peasant characters came out of the Italian and German traditions of the 16th and 17th centuries. No doubt, however, further inspiration arose from the Russian devotion to the belief that the Russian peasant symbolized the pure soul of the Russian nation. Objects that were rendered in a traditionally “Russian” style or that depicted typical Russian life were always popular with the upper classes.

Prevailing Styles

Faberge’s objects were designed to suit the most popular styles of the day. Edwardian and Art Nouveau influences can be seen in creations dated to those time periods. Faberge was very careful to appeal to fashionable people’s inclinations.

Clients

Faberge’s clients sometimes wished to have a part in the process of creating objects which would then be bestowed upon as gifts to relatives or guests. Faberge gave his most prestigious customers the privileges of designing souvenirs or party favors.

Faberge was never at a loss for inspiration when it came to producing his so-called “Objects of Fantasy.” The ordinary world around him gave him enough material to appeal to a wide range of tastes and his own exacting standards.

Selected References

Dennis, Jessie McNab. "Faberge's Objects of Fantasy." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 23, No. 7. (Mar., 1965), pp. 229-242.