Lot 491: a fine and rare fabergé icon of christ pantocrator, workmaster johan victor aarne, st. petersburg, circa 1900

the gilded silver frame set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls and applied with finely cabled scrollwork, with wood back and strut, marked with Cyrillic initials of workmaster, Fabergé in Cyrillic and 88 standard, also with scratched inventory number 11717 . Contained in glazed display case

9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. 23.5 x 16.5 cm

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Around the turn of the century, many Russian jewelers and silversmiths greatly expanded the range of intensely colored stones they used to decorate works, often inspired by the large, bezel-set stones ornamenting Russian jewelry art of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This work is an unusually lavish example of that trend, particularly because the surface of the icon cover is studded with a great number of authentic gemstones rather than the hardstones or colored glass more typically used.