June 26, 2019

Fabergé and Stroganoff School masterpiece discovered at regional auction

June 26, 2019/ Nick Nicholson

On June 19 at Morphy’s Fine and Decorative Arts auction, an unrecognized Fabergé silver-mounted Stroganoff School ceramic vase dated 1903 and with impressed marks, came to the block with an estimate of $600-900. Sixty-seven bids later, the 7½-inch-tall vase sold at $141,450.

Sources in the field indicate that the vase was sold to a buyer in Moscow.

The heretofore unknown vase joins a rare group of Fabergé-mounted Stroganoff School ceramics. While at Christie’s in 1996, I sold a much larger scale work by the two firms which graced the cover of the Russian Sale catalogue.

A Fabergé silver-mounted cEramiC vase by the StroganofF school, ca 1901. Sold christie’s New york, april 18, 1996.

NICHOLSON ADVISORY

Nicholas B.A. Nicholson was born in New York and first visited the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. Informed by his time there, he developed an interest in Russian Fine and Decorative Art which led him to study Art History and Russian Area Studies at Kenyon College, from which he was graduated in 1991. Nicholson worked first for Karl Kemp, a premier dealer in continental furniture and decorative arts, before joining the staff of Christie's in 1993. Nicholson joined the Continental Furniture and Decorative Arts department as a Graduate Trainee, and was involved in the cataloguing and sale of the property of Alice Tully, Bernheimer & Co., and Rudolf Nureyev among others.

Nicholson took over the New York Russian Department as Specialist in 1994 and sold important property from the estates of Landsell Christie, Jane Englehardt, and Frank Sinatra, as well as participating in the landmark sale of the Faberge Imperial 25th Anniversary Clock, which at the time set records for Works of Art by Faberge, Clocks, and Silver.

Nicholson left Christie's in 1997, and became the American Curator of "Jewels of the Romanovs; Treasures from the Russian Imperial Court" an exhibition of works from five Russian lending institutions, including a selection of the Imperial Crown Jewels from the State Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation. The exhibition toured the US for two years, during which time Nicholson became a popular lecturer on Russian topics.   In 1999, Nicholson joined the staff of circline.com, an online art location and advisory service, leaving in 2002 to open his own company.

Since 2002, Nicholson has done appraisal and advisory for individuals and institutions, arranging for sales of Russian Works of Art, as well as Continental furniture, porcelain, silver, and jewelry.   While Nicholson is considered an expert on decorative objects from the "almaznii vek" or the Russian "Diamond Age" (1780-1810), his interests and expertise are broad and cover such diverse areas as Tiffany silver and 20th century jewelry; he is also a published novelist and translator.

Notes from the field

Fabergé and Stroganoff School masterpiece discovered at regional auction

NICHOLSON ADVISORY

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