the truncated spherical bowl, formed from alternating bands of red and yellow gold, the handle set top and bottom with cabochon rubies, the base of the kovsh mounted with a gold rouble from the reign of Catherine the Great, dated 1785.
Chief workmaster: Erik Kollin
The cup’s elegant scrolled handle is characteristic of the thought behind Fabergé’s work: its design allows the kovsh to be picked up with the index finger and sits easily against the middle finger.
Illustrated
The Last Flowering of Court Art: A Russian private collection of Fabergé,
exhibition catalogue (Wartski, 2010), number 25.
Fabergé studied the techniques of earlier goldsmiths and employed them in his own works. He was especially inspired by the combinations of differently coloured golds used in eighteenth century French goldsmithing. By adding other metals to the alloy of gold its colour changes. In this kovsh Fabergé has elegantly used the technique in reeded red and yellow golds.