February, 17, 2014 - May, 18, 2014
Austria, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches museum
- Organized by:
- Kunsthistorisches museum of Vienna, Moscow Kremlin Museums, Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Музей этнографии г.Вена, Австрийский театральный музей г.Вена.
The exposition of the Kunsthistorisches museum of Vienna incorporates over 160 outstanding loans from the Moscow Kremlin Museums and the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, which had been produced by leading Russian jewellery firms – the suppliers to the Russian court, including those of Carl Faberge, P. Ovchinnikov, I. Khlebnikov, O. Kurlyukov, G. Klingert, C.E. Bolin and others. The project is to explore the diversity of artistic forms and techniques of the Russian art industry at the turn of XXth century, when Russian jewellery production was appreciated throughout the world and recognized as being of the highest artistic merit and quality. Russian craftsmen have invented a new original consummate style, which incorporated a retrospective trend and national traditions along with fashionable utilitarian design, so popular in the modern society. The art of Faberge has contributed greatly to the development of the Russian jewellery industry and marked a new page in the history of the Russian and foreign industrial art.
The highlight of the exposition is the group of Easter eggs, containing special technical mechanisms, which were commissioned by the royal family as delightful gifts from the Russian Emperors to their beloved wives.
Items worthy of particular note are rarely seen precious flowers in the so-called genre of "Objets de Fantaisie", made of gold and enamels, and a number of amusing stone-cut miniature figurines of people and animals, remarkable for a refined modeling and high quality of stone polishing . These delicate grotesque artworks serve as brilliant example of the Russian tradition of working coloured stones and reveal the highest level of craftsmanship, characteristic of manufacturers of the Faberge firm, Imperial Lapidary Factories of Yekateringburg and Petergof.
The exhibition gives an opportunity to admire delicate pieces of jewellery, presented to members of the Royal family as precious gifts, and sacral objects, related to official ceremonials, including those worn during coronations.
Memorial items, belonged to the Romanov family, as well as domestic objects, souvenir products reveal the variety of techniques perfected by the late-nineteenth-century Russian jewellers, such as multicoloured enamel on filigree, highly skilled chasing, casting and stone cutting. Composed of the items, produced by various firms and workshops, the exposition explores main features and history of the development of the art of jewellery making at the turn of the XXth century.
For more information please visit the official website of the Kunsthistorisches museum of Vienna.