Johan Victor Aarne comes from the family of church deacon Johan Lindström from Timmerfors (Tampere). The reason why he decided to change his surname to Aarne is unknown, but it is known that it happened just before his wedding to Hilda Emilia Kosonen in 1886.
Silver sewing kit, height 6.2 cm, workshop of Victor Aarne (JVA), Vyborg, Finland, 1922.
Aarne began his apprenticeship as a jeweller in his native Timmerfors with the renowned jeweller Johan Erik Hellsten. After completing his apprenticeship, he moved to Hämeenlinna, where he qualified as an apprentice working with master jeweller Gustav Adolf Weckman. Weckman’s specialty was silver coffee and tea services, although he also created small pieces of jewellery – a particularly valuable experience for Aarne.
Icon “The Lord Almighty” in a silver gilded frame, decorated with pearls, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, height 23.5 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1900, from the collection of the Faberge Museum, St. Petersburg.
Arriving in St. Petersburg in 1880, he entered the workshop of August Holmström, one of the most famous jewelers who worked exclusively for the firm of Carl Fabergé. In 1891, Aarne received the title of jeweler, and soon founded his own workshop. All workshops that worked in close cooperation with the Fabergé firm had a certain specialization. Aarne’s workshop produced gift jewelry.
Silver cigarette case decorated with amber, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé, width 5.8 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1903.
These were mainly table items: elegant frames, bells, writing instruments and sets, often decorated with precious stones and the world-famous guilloche enamel from Fabergé. The workshop’s products were marked with the master’s personal hallmark “VA” and the hallmark of the Fabergé firm. Glass in a silver frame was an important part of the Fabergé firm’s products. Most of it was produced by the Moscow branch of the firm, as a rule, from domestic crystal glass. These unusual pieces with art glass from Gallé, Lötz and Tiffany were usually made to order.
Vase with peacock feathers motif by Louis C. Tiffany in a silver frame in the form of three peacocks, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé, height 20 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.
This vase was commissioned by Prince Michael Cantacuzène, a general and diplomat who married Julia Dent Grant, granddaughter of American President Ulysses S. Grant, in 1899. Glass vases with silver Fabergé mounts were popular with members of the imperial family. The inventory of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s chambers in the Winter Palace, compiled in 1909, listed several silver-mounted Tiffany glass items, including a small perfume bottle.
Paperweight in the form of a silver lizard with ruby eyes on a stand made of rock with pyrite crystals, length 18 cm, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.
In 1904, Johan Viktor Aarne decided to return to Finland. He sold his St. Petersburg jewelry workshop to his fellow countryman Hjalmar Armfeldt, moved to Vyborg and opened a jewelry store and workshop there, which operated until his death in 1934. Aarne’s products from the Vyborg period were marked with the initials “JVA”.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find any interesting works from Aarne’s Vyborg workshop, except for a few silver cutlery and a sewing kit.
Turquoise paperweight with silver snake, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, St. Petersburg, 1896 1904.Gold pendant cross decorated with enamel, ruby and diamonds, height 5.2 cm, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, St. Petersburg, circa 1891.An exceptionally rare Bohemian glass lamp on legs in the shape of four dolphins, which was purchased by Empress Maria Feodorovna on December 31, 1901 for 450 rubles, height 29 cm, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, St. Petersburg.Perfume bottle made of Tiffany favrile glass in a silver frame decorated with pearls, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, height 10.7 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.Rosewood cigarette case with a gold coin of Elizabeth Petrovna and two-tone gold overlays with emeralds and diamonds, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, length 10.8 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.Wood case clock with silver trim, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, height 22 cm, St. Petersburg, 1897.Bell pushbutton in the form of a bear suffering from a splinter, silver, garnet, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé, length 12 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.Silver kovsh with gilt, chrysoprase and guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, firm of Fabergé, length 15 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1890.Spirit lamp in neoclassical style, workshop of Victor Aarne, firm of Fabergé, height 9.5 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1900.Silver goblet decorated with guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, firm of Fabergé, height 10.2 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.Thermometer in silver with gilt and guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, height 19.7 cm, St. Petersburg, from the collection of the British monarchs.Silver notebook case decorated with gilding, guilloche enamel and moonstone, presented by the Romanov couple to Queen Victoria for Christmas 1896, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, height 26 cm, St. Petersburg, from the collection of British monarchs.Two tone gold bell pushbutton decorated with a sapphire and guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge, width 5.8 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.A gilded silver bell pushbutton decorated with moonstone, pearls and guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge, width 5.8 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.A wooden bell pushbutton in a gilded silver frame, decorated with almandine, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge, width 5.8 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899 1903, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Photo frame in gold, decorated with pearls and guilloche enamel, which belonged to King George I of Greece, brother of Empress Maria Feodorovna, workshop of Victor Aarne, Fabergé firm, height 6.3 cm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.A wooden photo frame in a gilded silver frame with carnelian, amethyst and bowenite, height 33.6 cm, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, St. Petersburg, 1899-1904.Gold photo frame decorated with diamonds and guilloche enamel, workshop of Victor Aarne, Faberge, height 6.3 cm, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.A lapis lazuli photo frame in a frame of multi colored gold with pearls and diamonds, Johan Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, height 5.3 cm, St. Petersburg, 1896-1904.Jade photo frame in a gold frame with pearls, rubies and diamonds, Johan Victor Aarne, Faberge firm, height 7.5 cm, St. Petersburg, 1896-1904.
