Lot 29: A Fabergé gold locket seal, workmaster: August Holmström, St. Petersburg, circa 1865

formed as a weight with thick handle, the base opening to reveal two black and white photographs, the lapis lazuli matrix engraved with the Order of Guelph, with workmaster's initials, 56 standard

height: 2.2cm, 7/8 in.

Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Fabergé Hofjuwelier de Zaren, 5 December 1986 - 22 February 1987, cat. no. 149
Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Fabergé-Cartier Rivalen am Zarenhof, 28 November 2003 - 12 April 2004, cat. no. 216

Géza von Habsburg, Fabergé Hofjuwelier de Zaren, Munich, 1986, p. 150
Géza von Habsburg, Fabergé-Cartier Rivalen am Zarenhof, Munich, 2003, p. 219

This miniature golden pendant seal by Fabergé contains two portrait photographs of Olga, Queen of the Hellenes and her husband, George I, King of the Hellenes. It is highly likely that the seal was a gift for Princess Thyra from King George I to commemorate his wedding to the Russian Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna in St. Petersburg in October 1867. In concept this locket is comparable with a bracelet that Princess Thyra had been given the previous year, which celebrated the wedding of her elder sister, Princess Dagmar (Maria Fedorovna). The bracelet, made by the St. Petersburg jeweller, Samuel Arndt, also contained miniature photographs of the bride and groom, Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and Princess Dagmar of Denmark.

The two photographic portraits are held in round frames within the seal. The pictures of Princess Thyra's brother King George I, and the Grand Duchess Olga look identical to their pictures in the photograph taken by Karl Bergamasco in 1867 [G.A.R.F.], down to the haircuts and details of clothing. The dress worn by Grand Duchess is very similar in style which, combined with the fact that there is a bouquet lying on the young Olga's knees, suggests that the photograph was taken on some special occasion, either the Grand Duchess's birthday or her engagement day. The seal is formed as a measure of weight, one Pud. A similarly shaped seal, but without the concealed photograph compartment of the present example, was exhibited Fabergé Imperial Craftsman and his World, Wilmington, 2000, cat. no. 257.