Fabergé's Animals

In 1907 King Edward VII and his consort, Queen Alexandra, commissioned the Imperial Russian jeweller Carl Fabergé to create an entire diminutive carved menagerie of all the animals on their country estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. The result was the largest group of Fabergé hardstone animal carvings in existence.

This book is the first to explore the complete history of the unique commission. It includes stunning close-up photography of the carvings themselves, plus contextual material from both the Russian and the Royal Archives, some of which has never been published before. It gives an introduction to the history of royal patronage of Fabergé, and concludes with information on his workshops and carvers, and a glossary of specialist terms. This is the first time the Sandringham Commission has been studied in its entirety, and this book is an important addition to works on the great Russian master.

Caroline de Guitaut is Assistant Curator and Loans Officer at the Royal Collection, and the author of ‘Fabergé in the Royal Collection’ (2003).