A rare look at the exquisite world of Russian treasures that lies beyond Fabergé. Imperial Russia evokes images of a vanished court’s unparalleled splendor: magnificent tiaras, gem-encrusted necklaces, snuffboxes, and other diamond-studded baubles of the tsars and tsarinas. During that time, jewelry symbolized power and wealth, and no one knew this better than the Romanovs. The era marked the high point of the Russian jewelers' art. Beginning with Catherine I's reign in 1725, in the century when women ruled Russia, until the Russian Revolution of 1917, the imperial capital's goldsmiths perfected their craft, and soon the quality of Russia’s jewelry equaled, if not surpassed, the best that Europe’s capitals could offer. Who created these jewels that helped make the Russian court the richest in Europe? Hint: it wasn't Carl Fabergé. This is the first systematic survey in any language of all the leading jewelers and silver masters of imperial Russia. The authors skillfully unfold for us the lives, histories, creations, and makers’ marks of the artisans whose jewels and silver masterworks bedazzled the tsars. The previously unheralded names include Pauzié, Bolin, Hahn, Koechli, Seftigen, Marshak, Morozov, Nicholls & Plincke, Grachev, Sazikov, and many others. The market for these exquisite masterworks is also explored, from its beginnings to today's auction world and collector demand. More than 600 stunning photos reacquaint the world with the master artisans and their creations.
Marie Betteley is a jewelry dealer, gemologist, lecturer, and leading authority on Russian jewels and decorative arts. www.mariebetteley.com David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye is professor of Russian history at Brock University, Ontario, and a fellow of the Russian Society of Canada. www.russianhistory.ca
Beyond Faberge is an exciting and much-needed exploration of the incredible jewelry and silver industry in late Imperial Russia. -- Peter Kaellgren, Ph.D. Curator Emeritus (European Decorative Arts)
Beyond Fabergé is a jewel of a book and a must for anyone interested in Russian art and culture. -- Margaret Kelly Trombly, Former Director and Curator of The Forbes Magazine Collection
Marie Betteley and David Schimmelpennick van der Oyes beautifully illustrated and extensively researched study is the most comprehensive work available outside Russian sources on the silversmith-jewelers of the Russian Empire. Despite the wealth of the court, and the resulting importance and size of the Russian jewelry market, the careers of jewelers, enamelers, and silversmiths beyond Fabergé have heretofore been inaccessible to historians and collectors without knowledge of the language. It at last brings attention to those silversmiths beyond Fabergé, their stylistic characteristics and careers, and how their work circulated in the marketplace both before and after 1917. This well illustrated book is essential reading for historians of jewelry, the decorative arts, and Imperial court culture as well as a delight for collectors and admirers of the work of these talented jewelers. -- Karen Kettering Kettering Associates Art Advisory and Independent Scholar
