Gueridon (Primary Title)
Silver-Mounted Gueridon (Former Title)
Table (Object Name)
Fabergé firm, Russian, 1842 - 1917 (Manufacturer)
Hjalmar Armfelt, 1873–1959 (Workmaster)
Furniture by the Fabergé firm is extremely rare. This highly important table was inspired by French gueridons, tables that were popular during the reign of Louis XIV (1638–1715). The four tapering legs are made of palisander (a tropical rosewood), the tabletop is nephrite, and applied decorations are both nephrite and silver. The form and ornamentation of the table are neoclassical, an 18th-century style that was influenced by the art of ancient Greece and Rome. For example, the ornamental silver palm leaf, or anthemion, is an ornament that appears frequently in Greek art. Because Hjalmar Armfelt was mainly known for miniature frames and gold and silver objects, experts suggest that the parts of the table made of palisander may have been ordered from independent cabinetmakers. The wood frame would then have been ornamented with silver and nephrite by Fabergé craftsmen.
Both galleries, the backs of capitals and bases of all four legs, and the top backs of all four-paw feet, as well as some of the linear ornament on the legs bear marks that include the initials of Karl Armfelt, K Fabergé (in Cyrillic), the right-facing kokoshnik with alpha (for St. Petersburg, 1908-1917) and 88 zolotnik. A silver edging underneath the top silver gallery bears the scratched inventory number 24918
Gift of Forrest E. Mars, Jr., John F. Mars, and Jacqueline B. Mars in honor of their mother and father, Audrey M. Mars and Forrest E. Mars Sr.
Fabergé: Jeweler to the Tsars, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, June 20 – September 27, 2015
Fabergé Revealed, Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 14, 2014 - May 25, 2015
Fabulous Fabergé, Jeweler to the Czars, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, June 14 - October 12, 2014
Fabergé Revealed, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, June 22 - September 29, 2013
Fabergé: The Rise and Fall, Detroit Institute of Art, October 14, 2012 - January 21, 2013
Fabergé Revealed, Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 14, 2014 - May 25, 2015
Fabulous Fabergé, Jeweler to the Czars, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, June 14 - October 12, 2014
Fabergé Revealed, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, June 22 - September 29, 2013
Fabergé: The Rise and Fall, Detroit Institute of Art, October 14, 2012 - January 21, 2013
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
