Lot 498: A FABERGÉ TWO-COLOUR GOLD AND ENAMEL CIGARETTE CASE, WORKMASTER MICHAEL PERCHIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1899-1903

A FABERGÉ TWO-COLOUR GOLD AND ENAMEL CIGARETTE CASE, WORKMASTER MICHAEL PERCHIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1899-1903 in neoclassical taste, the surface of lemon cream-coloured enamel within pink and green gold stripes and rays, the lid and base centred with a chased rosette, the borders chased with entrelac de rubans , the end with vesta compartment, modern tinder cord, struck with workmaster's initials and Fabergé in Cyrillic, 56 standard height: 9.7cm, 3 7/8 in.

A most interesting comparison is to be made with the cinnabar lacquered gold case from the collection of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna which sold, Sotheby's London, 30 November 2009, lot 18. Perchin seems to have favoured this form when in the mood for some degree of experimentation with materials. Of an earlier date, the Romanov Heirlooms case was, quite unusually, lacquered, a tribute to late 18th century Paris composition boxes. Here the goldsmith has taken the object a step further by employing this enamel which is an extraordinary - and perhaps unprecedented - colour. Perhaps significantly, neither case was apparently scratched with a Fabergé inventory number.