6 October 2020, Moscow. The Moscow Kremlin Museums received the Fabergé family archive bequeathed to the museum earlier this year by Tatiana Fabergé, its former owner and the great-granddaughter of the court jeweller himself. She died in France in February 2020, and according to her will, the museum received the bulk of the family’s archival documents for research and study.
The specialists of the Moscow Kremlin Museums had known Tatiana Fabergé since 1992 – the year when the "World of Fabergé" – a landmark exhibition, the first among such projects in Russia to pay the exclusive tribute to the legacy of the master, – took place. The family archive itself entered the Kremlin Museums' collection in September 2020. It comprises the family memorabilia that pertain to the period, spanning over 100 years, and witnessing the life of the Fabergé family throughout the whole 20th century.
After the founders of the House of Fabergé left Russia, the history of the firm remained understudied, so, the newly received documents will throw new light upon the life of the Fabergé descendants and their work in exile. The archive contains numerous documents, personal belongings, jewellery-making tools of the master himself, sketches and models of the jewellery pieces, and valuable photographs capturing the history of the famous jewellery house and the Fabergé dynasty itself. The surviving sketches offer a rare opportunity allowing to trace the evolution of Fabergé's masterpieces through preparatory stages. Furthermore, the archive holds some important documents once in possession of the Sheremetev family – Tatiana Fabergé's relatives on the maternal side.
Of great interest are also the auction sales catalogues, listing some of Fabergé's pieces, with catalogue entries and notes provided by the family members, who authenticated the objects, confirming their value and provenance. An individual album of photographs contains images of select Easter eggs, along with the complement pieces of the imperial gift sets. Having studied the photographs, the researchers were able to witness for themselves the existence of the lost complement made for to the precious "Bouquet of Lilies" Easter egg, now in the Armoury Chamber collection.
Following Tatiana Fabergé's will, the archival and photographic materials listed and studied by the staff of the Moscow Kremlin Museums will be made available in the museum archive to all researchers and scholars, as the legacy of Carl Fabergé invariably stirs interest both in Russia and around the world.