Frame for three photographs made of Karelian birch in a silver frame decorated with enamel, Faberge, workmaster Hjalmar Armfeldt, length 66 cm, 1908-1917. The photographs show Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich in the uniform of His Majesty’s Hussar Guards, Guards Sapper and Dragoon Guards.
The use of wood in Carl Faberge’s jewelry is in keeping with his stated principle of using materials for their decorative properties rather than their intrinsic value. Both Moscow and St. Petersburg produced a surprisingly wide and varied range of wooden objects. In addition to Hjalmar Armfeldt, the workshops of Perkhin, Wigström, Aarne, Thielemann and Nevalainen worked with wood, making photo frames, table drawers, bowls, desk sets, bell buttons and other items. Silver was usually used in wood trim, but sometimes gold was also used with the addition of enamel and precious stones.
For work, both valuable and exotic tree species were used, such as rosewood, Karelian birch, as well as ordinary birch, maple.
Wooden photo frame in a silver frame with an imperial crown
Wooden photo frame in a silver frame with an imperial crown, Faberge, height 36 cm, 1908-1917
In the photo – Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich in a winter coat and a fur hat in a snowy field, the inscription “CE de Hahn & Co., Tsarskoye Selo” In 1891, K.A. Yagelsky and his wife K.E. Jacobson opened their photography studio and printing house CE de Hahn & Co. They took part in the filming of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II in 1894, which was the first event captured on film in Russia.
Subsequently, the Hahn company received exclusive rights to photograph the Imperial family, and in 1911 Jagelsky received the new title of Photographer of His Imperial Majesty. The Hahn studio was located in Tsarskoye Selo and prospered. In 1910 alone, about two thousand photographs were printed, and the amount of their annual bills was comparable to the expenses of the imperial family on jewelry, which testified to the great interest of the Empire in the art of photography.
Imperial gift photo frame made of birch in a silver frame, with an imperial crown, Faberge, workmaster Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 40cm, 1904-1908
Frame with original photo by Boissonas & Eggler, St. Petersburg. Emperor Nicholas I in the uniform of a field marshal of the British Army, signed by Nicholas II, dated 1916. The sober decoration of this frame consciously reflects the situation in Russia during the war, without sacrificing the skill and attention to detail for which Faberge was famous. This photograph was reportedly sent to Rear Admiral Nikolai Volkov, Imperial Russian Naval Attaché in London, as a gift to Lord Balfour, First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915-1916, but was never delivered.
Master Faberge – Hjalmar Armfeldt
Table bell made of rosewood in a gilded silver frame with white guilloché enamel, Faberge, diameter 5.5 cm, 1899-1908.Wooden photo frame in a silver frame, Faberge, 6.5×16.5 cm, 1908-1917Rosewood photo frame in silver frame, Faberge, Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 21 cm, 1904-1908Frame for three photographs made of Karelian birch in a silver frame decorated with enamel, FabergeWooden box in a silver frame with guilloche rim, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, length 16 cm, 1904-1908.Table lamp on a wooden stand in a silver frame with winged lions at the corners, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 58 cm, 1900-1906.Table bell made of wood in a frame of gilded silver with a button of pink chalcedony, Faberge, workmaster Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 6.4 cm, 1904-1908.Wooden frame for four photos in a silver frame, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 15.2 cm, circa 1910Wooden frame for five photographs in a silver frame, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 22.5 cm, circa 1910Table bell made of wood in a silver frame with white guilloché enamel, Faberge, workmaster Hjalmar Armfeldt, length 6.4 cm, 1908-1917.Wooden frame in a silver frame with a signed photograph of the King of Sweden Gustav V with the inscription Gustav Tsarskoye Selo, 1908, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 22.5 cm, circa 1908.Wooden frame in a silver frame, decorated with guilloché enamel, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 30.5 cm, circa 1900Box in a silver frame in the neoclassical style, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, length 40.2 cm, 1908-1917.Wooden frame in silver-mounted painted bird’s-eye maple, Faberge, craftsman Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 30.6 cm, 1908-1917.Wooden frame in a silver frame, decorated with guilloché enamel, Faberge, master Hjalmar Armfeldt, height 22.7 cm, circa 1900
