A Russian Agate and Two-Color Gold-Mounted Translucent Green Guilloché Enameled Box Fabergé, Moscow, 1908-1917, with scratched inventory number 23927 1-1/8 x 2-5/8 x 1-1/2 inches (2.9 x 6.7 x 3.8 cm) 72 grams PROVENANCE: With A La Vieille Russie, New York; An important California private collection, acquired from the above; John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington, acquired from the above; Acquired from the above by the present owner. The Moscow branch of Fabergé was opened in February of 1887. The shop was located at Kuznetskii Most, 4, and the workrooms were at Kiselnyi Pereulok, 4. While the Moscow branch was originally manned by Fabergé 's partner Allan Bowe, the Moscow branch came under the control of Alexander Fabergé , Carl's son until it was shuttered after the Revolution. The most recent examination of the Moscow branch did not come until 2022 when scholars Valentin Skurlov and Dmitry Krivoshey published their findings on the firm in their article "Fabergé : The Firm's Moscow Branch" published as an article in Moskovskie postavshchiki: Istoriia f litsakh III, Moscow 2022, pp. 211) which added substantively to our understanding of the firm's organization and output, building on the work of Anne Odom's "Fabergé: The Moscow Workshops" (G. von Habsburg and M. Lopato, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller, 1994, pp. 104-115). It was noted by HC Bainbridge that the "workshops devoted to the making of objects of fantasy, and goldsmithery in general, were under the management of G[ustav] Jahr, a native of the Baltic" (Peter Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Russian Imperial Court, 1949, p. 131) indicating that Jahr may have had a hand in the production of this unusual box. Another Moscow box with consecutive inventory no. 23926 was sold, Christie's New York, December 1, 1995, lot 53. Heritage Auctions is grateful to Anna and Vincent Palmade for their assistance with research on this lot. Masterpieces of Russian Enamel from an Important American Collection HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved