fake/spurious "Faberge" and "Imperial" items

[koloagirl]

 


Aloha all!

Just had to post because when I was looking under "Russian Imperial" on EBay -- a listing came up for a $5,000 amber frame --
not just any amber frame mind you, but it is listed as

Amber frame of Tsarevich Alexei from the Amber Room!    

Too funny!  There is a somewhat bogus looking amber type frame with a black and white picture of some toddler wearing a cowboy hat and gingham shirt -- the seller says this is a picture of Tsarevich Alexei and even has the gall to show a couple of other well known pictures of Alexei to back him up!  The pic not only looks nothing like Alexei but the outfit and frame look like they were cobbled together in someone's basement!  I don't recall any pictures of Alexei wearing a cowboy outfit either!
 

And then they list the whole history of the Amber Room -- I couldn't believe this person actually would think that someone would shell out $5,000 for a bogus picture and a frame that looks like one I could buy at my local flea market!

Amber Room and Alexei my patootie!   

[slaudio]

A real piece of Fabergé actually showed up on ebay last week....it was a triangular clock with some serious enamel damage.  It was part of ebay's live auction bidding, and hammered down at $110K, excluding the buyer's premium.  So even when something right occasionally comes along, everybody and his brother knows about it. 

Here's the link:
http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150130245872&rd=1,1

[Alixz]

koloagirl - I just happened across the site that you mentioned and took a look at that "amber frame".

I don't know if it is authentic of not, but the boy in the picture is not wearing a cowboy hat and gingham shirt.

The child is wearing a kind of round Russian sailor's hat, but I can't see the inscription on the band and he is wearing a plaid dress as was common for young boys to wear dresses in that era until they were about 4 or 5 years old.

I have never seen Alexei in that kind of dress, but we have seen him in other "dresses" in his early pictures.  Here is the link for those of you who might want to take a look.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ONE-OF-A-KIND-IMPERIAL-RUSSIAN-AMBER-FRAME-BY-FABERGE_W0QQitemZ250133090196QQihZ015QQcategoryZ13794QQcmdZViewItem

I agree that the frame looks too awful to be real Faberge, and the toddler in question looks to be in some sort of play pen which I don't even know were in use in the Imperial Family in that era.

Interesting  and a caution to those who might want to find "authentic" Russian antiques.

[Forum Admin]

First, understand that 99.99% of what is claimed to be Faberge on ebay is NOT genuine.

This Bulgarian dealer, "MilitaryaBG",  sells NOTHING but fakes. Each one with an alleged Imperial provenance. Sadly, each one is a total fabrication. Now some pieces are "real" russian antiques of mediocre quality, with eagles slapped on and some "royal" provenance cobbled up.

Trust me, there are no Faberge bargains on ebay.

That amber frame is just yet another one of this same awful and criminal Bulgarian fraud artist.

[Romenta]

 
 I am responding to the information about the Bulgarian e-bay guy.  I have had personal dealings with him, and he tried to foist three Keshenskaya eggs off on me - in Bulgaria!   I checked with four experts who said absolutely the stuff was not Imperial.  This is a warning to you all - this guy has a SECOND SITE.  Because of the adverse publicity he has gotten (everyone knows this guy), he has opened a second site.  Look under Bulgarian sites and you will soon find the stuff he is now flooding on e-bay.  You will soon see the similarities in the sites and I don't need to tell you what to look for, as you will identify them immediately.  The imperial boxes are a joke and the stuff is not real.  He told me the Faberge Imperial items were appraised and pronounded "authentic" by the Bulgarian Historical Society, which I did my darnest to find and could not.  Anything of the Keshenskya collection would be held in private hands or in a museum, but he told me he bought the entire collection for $76,000 in the '90's.  You will notice he also has things from every conceivable Royal family in Europe, which is absolutely a lie.  There are no "certifications of authenticity" unless you receive the countenance yourself from a long line of family members.  I have been told he makes his own monograms and the stuff are either cheap knockoffs or cheap antique quality.  Do not buy from this man.  As for the light green egg he has on there with the picture of the countess, the ring is badly cut and wide open.  I needn't tell anyone about the danger in that.  Try and convince anyone that one is real if the marked ring has at one time been cut off the egg.  And that woman he pictures could be anyone. 

[Romenta]

 
 Can anyone recommend a good book or some literature specifically about each of Faberge's workmasters and assay masters that detail WHEN these people worked in their specific cities, so that the assay markings, city marks or koknoshniks can indeed by matched by dates?  I have severeal Faberge books and many have sketchy info. about their deaths and when they began to work at each store, but these men moved around - some transferring to other locations at different times.  The book with all the information,I know, are the two Russian-English translated books by A.N. Ivanov, which contain this information, but alas, they only printed 200 copies and they have been quickly snapped up by the dealers, so they are absolutely impossible to get.  One is called "Assaying and Hallmarking in Russia 1700-1946" and the other "Gold and silversmithing in Russia 1600-1926."  Believe me, I have tried EVERYWHERE and the books are not available at all.  The only person I know who has them is Dmitry Alexandrovich at RomanovRussia@aol.com.  I have bought several things from him, and his reputation is impeccable as they come and he knows more about Faberge than any person I have ever talked to.  I trust this man implicitly.

[Alixz]

I have a fabulous coffee table  book called Faberge and the Russian Master Goldsmiths with text by Gerard Hill, G G Smorodinova and B L Ulyanova

I also have Carl Faberge Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia by A. Kenneth Snowman.

And then I have Faberge Imperial Eggs and Other Fantasies by Hermione Waterfield & Christopher Forbes (which is based on the Forbes Collection in New York.)  I have seen this collection and it is amazing!  I don't know if it is still there, but the lobby of Forbes Magazine building held a great amount of treasures from Faberge and also some letters signed by Alexandra and Nicholas.

[Robert_Hall]

The Forbes collection was sold before auction and is now in Russia.

[Alixz]

Robert,

Thank you for the update.  I last saw the collection in 1981 and I keep forgetting how long ago that truly is.  Some of our posters weren't even born back then. 

When was the collection sold?  What prompted Forbes to return the collection to Russia?  Did he truly intend for that to happen or was he going to sell at auction and the Russian government stepped in?

It was a truly beautiful collection, however, some of the Imperial Eggs were very dusty and dirty.  I saw the collection I think about three times over the years that it was there and on my last visit I remember mentioning that it could use a "good cleaning".

I wondered at the logistics of cleaning such a priceless collection and how much insurance would be needed just to move it to a jeweler who was even qualified to do the work!!  Forbes owned the "Spring Egg" and I remember that the flowers were very dirty.  It is also so much smaller that one can imagine from the huge enlarged pictures in most books.  It is a beautiful petite creation.

The book Faberge Imperial Eggs and Other Fantasies by Hermione Waterfield & Christopher Forbes shows what was in the collection.

I mentioned all of the books I own because Romenta had asked about a good book about Faberge and his workmen.  I think that
Faberge and the Russian Master Goldsmiths with text by Gerald Hill, G G Smorodinova and B L Ulyanova is very good in its explanation of who did what and where they did it.  The master's marks are explained in all three of the books.

[Robert_Hall]

Alixz, Malcolm Forbes died and his son  were to put the collection up for auction.  A Russian gazillioanire bought the entire lot before that could happen and took it back to Russia! Although it is no longer on view in the US, it is still intact as opposed to being dispersed to various buyers.  I saw it in Saint Petersburg in 2005, at the Hermitage so I think the sale must have been 2004. I am not sure where in Russia it is to be permantley housed, but it joined the Kremlin collection for a while.
 I had ordered the auction catalogue but as there was no auction, they never sent them out. Instead there is a lavish book available for around $200 ! I saw it and although nice, it has nothing  we do not have in any of the other [many] Faberge books.
 Btw,  I would have made the same suggestion for the makers that you did. I would add  the Von Habsbug  & Lopato volume, as it has a good chapter on the marks and artisists.I have seen it with various titles but the isnb is 0-500 09239-7
 Cheers,
 Robert

[Alixz]

Robert,

Thanks,  I thought it might have something to do with Malcolm Forbes's death.  I don't know how I missed all the action.

I think it is good that the collection remained intact and has been returned to Russia.  Although, I wonder (with the exception of the Imperial Eggs and picture frames) who the original owners of the items were?

Some must have provenance, but I'll bet that a lot don't as Forbes picked them up from all kinds of places.  His original piece - the gold cigarette case - I think he got at a store is Paris??

[helenazar]

I think it is good that the collection remained intact and has been returned to Russia. 

Theoretically it' a good thing, as long as it continues to remain intact, which remains to be seen. We have all seen what happened to some of the collections at the Hermitage  . Hopefully, because of its prominence, the Faberge collection will not suffer similar fate!

[Alixz]

Did these other collections at the Hermitage suffer dissolution before or after the fall of the Soviet Union?

I know that the Soviets in later years were desperate to get some of "their" treasures back.  Is the Russian Republic just as concerned or are individuals in Russia snapping them up?

[Robert_Hall]

Some was sold off by the Soviets, some has been stolen by museum curators. A very sad case there. But, for the most part, the collections are vast and  what has been lost is a small dent in the cultural patrimony of Russia. Look at it this way- when one has a  porcelaine dinner service for 3,000, what is a plate or 2 missing matter? It is simple amazing what is left.  I cannot recommend enough the book SAVING THE TSAR'S Palaces by  Morgan & Orlova. It tells the story quite well.
 Of course, some was looted or destroyed in the war, but that is a different story altogether.

[helenazar]

Did these other collections at the Hermitage suffer dissolution before or after the fall of the Soviet Union?

Last year there was a big scandal, some employees at the Hermitage apparently had been stealing works of art from the museum for years.. Something like $5 million worth of stuff. And this is what we know of...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5235148.stm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/31/AR2006073100504.html

http://www.suebond.co.uk/events/default.php?eventid=139

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/08/03/hermitage-theft-icon.html