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<Description>
Diamond tiara with central motif of floral spray within curvilinear frame flanked on each side by acanthus leaf scrolls diminishing in size toward the extremities, supported by a bandeau enamelled 'en guilloche' in an opalescent shade of pale blue.  By Workmaster Fedor Afanassiev (fl. 1899-1908).  Retailed by Fabergé's Moscow branch and in original box.

<Commentary>
As jeweller to the Imperial court of Russia, Fabergé made many tiaras, necklaces, bracelets and brooches mounted with precious stones, of which, as a gemmologist, he was an expert judge.  His settings were of the highest quality and the 'Muscovite style tiara all in diamonds and ornaments of Byzantine inspiration' which he showed at the 1900 Paris World's Fair was applauded by the adjudicators as having 'reached the extreme limits of perfection' in this respect.
Although this was in a historical revival style and another famous tiara - a wreath of cyclamen - illustrated his version of Art Nouveau (cf. G. Munn, One Hundred Tiaras (1977) no. 62) most Fabergé tiaras, like this example, are in the classical tradition.  This is confirmed by the pictorial record of jewellery executed by the Holmstrom workshop from March 6, 1909 - March 20, 1915 which shows that the majority of designs are either neoclassical wreaths of laurel or stylised flowers, trellis work and bowknots. (cf. A.K. snowman, Fabergé : Lost and Found (1993) pp. 56, 58, 101, 119, 169 etc.).
The Holmstrom drawings also indicate that this combination of the two techniques of stone setting with that of enamelling was usually reserved for smaller pieces of jewellery, particularly brooches, rather than larger and more important ornaments such as this.  Raising the diamonds above the enamelled bandeau would certainly have made the tiara easier to wear, for a blaze of these stones, close to the face, did not suit women past their first youth.  The blue enamel therefore not only softened the effect of glittering stones but undoubtedly matched the wearer's grey blue eyes and echoed the colour of her dress.  The tiara was made for a woman in the upper ranks of society to wear at a court ball or at one of the many social events given by the Grand Duchesses, the nobility or the heads of legations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  These occasions were held in spacious halls with marble walls and columns, shining parquet floors with hothouse flowers in huge malachite vases.  The sight of the men in their white and gold uniforms, the women in their heavily embroidered robes trimmed with sable and adorned with incredible quantities of pearls, diamonds and precious stones as big as nuts, seemed even more gorgeous in contrast with the slush and snow in the streets outside.  All foreign visitors agreed that the Russian love of picturesque splendour could not be surpassed by any other nation.

<Significance>
Combining as it does the two skills for which Fabergé won world fame - enamelling and stone setting - in an ornament which is symbolic of the hierarchical society which was destroyed by the Russian Revolution of 1917, this tiara seems to epitomise that vanished world.  The superlative quality was what reduced most visitors to Fabergé shops to an awed silence and one of the firm's greatest admirers, Miss Buchanan, daughter of the British ambassador, recalled that whenever she went to buy presents there she was 'inclined to whisper as if in church or school.'
A von Solodkoff, Fabergé (1988) illustrated p.52. G. Munn, One Hundred Tiaras (1997) no. 10.

Diana Scarisbrick

| Greco-Roman | Medieval | Renaissance | Baroque | Rococo | Neo-Classical, First Empire Period | Romanticism, Eclecticism |
| Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts | Belle Epoque, Edwardian | Art Deco, 30's | Special Exhibition Room | Special Exhibition Room for Tiaras |