Hardstone Figurines

Another offshoot of using hard stone as a material was the creation of figurines. Fabergé produced hundreds of different figurines using both animals and humans as models. Undoubtedly, this idea, like so many of his others, had their beginnings in art forms that Fabergé had observed elsewhere. During the 1880’s, Japanese art became increasingly popular in Europe and one style of art, in particular, caught the eye of Fabergé - that of netsuke figurines carved of ivory or sometimes wood. He was himself a collector of netsue and by 1900 realized a profitable market was his for the taking. That same year, his St. Petersburg branch began the production of finely crafted animals. Although the word most often used to describe these creatures was “realistic”, the true realism lies less in the exacting proportions of their stature and more in their particular posture, perhaps the tilt of their head, the positioning of their tail or the overall carriage that is unique to that particular animal plus the choice of hard stone material. Trained not only as a goldsmith and jeweler but also a lapidary, made Fabergé a genius at choosing from among Russia’s immense mineral resources for the stone which would bring his animals to life. Agate was one of the stones used most often both for its color and its relative softness, which made it easy to carve. Oftentimes, the stone chosen would suit the color of the animal being carved, for instance green nephrite for a frog or toad, gray jasper for an elephant, pink quartz for pigs and black obsidian for seals. Sometimes, however, the animals were made of unexpected colors – blue lapis lazuli elephants, green nephrite bulls or pink quartz rabbits - giving them a whimsical look. Whether realistic or whimsical, the animals proved to be very profitable for Fabergé selling an average of 25 animals a year between the years of 1907 and 1917 at his London branch and, although no records exist from the St. Petersburg branch, workers who survived the October Revolution and fled Russia reported that the number of animals sold was far more than that of the London branch. As his workers became more skilled at using the stones and minerals, Fabergé challenged them to begin mixing hard stones in the creation of human figurines. These figurines, along with the Easter eggs, are considered to be the most rare of objects produced in Fabergé’s workshops. It was once believed that only some fifty of these figurines were ever made however, recently as the official count came to forty-seven art historians concluded that as many as eighty may possibly have been created. At first glance, these figurines appear as though they were made of porcelain and glazed. However, a close look reveals that they are meticulously carved from different semiprecious stones and minerals. The figurines can be categorized into three distinct types. The first is the folkloric group, which shows the average Russian going about his or her daily business. It includes peasants and policemen, soldiers and street vendors and a vast array of other characters. The second group is portrait sculptures. These include individuals who were easily recognized by the public. Some of these included a famous gypsy singer by the name of Varya Panina and the bodyguard of the Dowager Empress Marie. The third and final group consisted of characters from literature and history. This group was more whimsical in nature and included Lewis Carroll’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee plus America’s Uncle Sam. These figurines were, with one exception, taken from the Western world. The creative process began with initial drawings of the subject. Then, a wax model would be prepared based on those drawings. Next, hardstone copies of various body parts, clothing pieces, and miscellaneous items held by these figurines were devised from the wax impressions. Later, they were expertly fitted together, glued in place and polished to a high luster. The execution of these figurines was, as were Fabergé’s other creations, impeccable and near perfection. The joints between the various stones are so tight that they are nearly invisible to the naked eye and furthermore can oftentimes not even be detected by means of a fine needle. Again, just as with the animal figurines the choice of stone and its coloration was the secret. The best example of this is the portrait sculpture of Varya Panina. Her red and white jasper shawl was so expertly chosen and deftly executed that it resembles a paisley pattern. Fabergé opposed making duplicates of anything but relented when it came to the figurines but even then, insisted that different stones be used so that no two pieces were exactly alike.