Imperial Lilies-of-the-Valley Basket

1896

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 555

On loan to The Met

This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.

This basket is considered the most important Fabergé piece in the United States and the highest achievement of the workmaster August Wilhelm Holmström. It consists of nineteen individual stems decorated with pearls and diamonds and was presented to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Czar Nicholas II) on the occasion of her visit to the Pan-Russian Exhibition in 1896. The czarina treasured it not only because the lily-of-the-valley was one of her favorite flowers but also because, in the language of the flowers, it symbolizes domestic happiness and conjugal bliss.

[Wolfram Koeppe, 2011]

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Imperial Lilies-of-the-Valley Basket
Maker: House of Carl Fabergé
Maker: Workmaster: August Wilhelm Holmström (1829–1903)
Date: 1896
Culture: Russian, St. Petersburg
Medium: Yellow and green gold, silver, nephrite, pearl, rose-cut diamond
Dimensions: Overall: 7 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 5 7/8 in. (19.1 x 21.6 x 14.9 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Gold and Platinum
Credit Line: Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation
Object Number: L.2011.66.56a, b
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts