Carving thumbnail 1
Carving thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Carving

late 19th century to early 20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Carl Fabergé owned a large collection of Japanese netsuke ( decorative pendants worn on men's kimonos ) which directly inspired his animal carvings. He used many types of hardstone to make lively and humorous depictions of animals for an aristocratic clientele. Queen Alexandra assembled a celebrated collection and her husband King Edward VII commissioned Fabergé to produce models from the Queen's Zoo at Sandringham. Fabergé's London branch sold over 250 models of animals. The most popular was the elephant.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Carved nephrite jade
Brief description
Nephrite jade carving of a snail, by Carl Fabergé, Russia, late 19th to early 20th century
Physical description
Nephrite jade carving of a snail, by Carl Fabergé
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.8cm
  • Width: 8.1cm
  • Depth: 3.2cm
Credit line
Bequeathed by Henry L Florence
Historical context
The firm of Fabergé was famous for its production of small hardstone carvings of animals and flowers
Subject depicted
Summary
Carl Fabergé owned a large collection of Japanese netsuke ( decorative pendants worn on men's kimonos ) which directly inspired his animal carvings. He used many types of hardstone to make lively and humorous depictions of animals for an aristocratic clientele. Queen Alexandra assembled a celebrated collection and her husband King Edward VII commissioned Fabergé to produce models from the Queen's Zoo at Sandringham. Fabergé's London branch sold over 250 models of animals. The most popular was the elephant.
Collection
Accession number
C.1190-1917

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 1, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest