Fantastic Rare Russian Faberge Imperial Desk Clock  Pre-1908. 

This is a triangular Faberge Imperial guilloche desk clock made in Moscow before 1908, with the marks of the Imperial warrant double-headed eagle and "K. Faberge" in Cyrillic script on the back side of the clock and the kokoshnik mark, which features a woman's traditional headdress in Russia, in the oval cartouche to the right of the eagle, and the woman's headdress faces left, which means the clock was made before 1908; if the headdress faced right, the clock would have been made after 1908. The oval also has the numbers 84 in the cartouche, which indicates the purity of the metal, or .875 silver, the gilt swag just above the day and month is in the style of Louis XIV, and the clock has all the gold and silver hallmarks needed to make this a special Faberge clock.

We know the clock was made in Moscow because Moscow-made pieces usually feature "K. Fabergé" in Cyrillic script and the double-headed eagle symbol, representing the Imperial warrant. St. Petersburg pieces typically used "Fabergé" in Cyrillic script, while smaller items might just use the initials "KF" in Cyrillic.

Russia didn't use carats to calculate how much their precious metals weighed, either, but zolotniki, a system of standard units or measurements introduced by Peter the Great in the 1700's. The production of silver was fixed in four units of purity - 62, 84, 90, and 96 zolotniki -and in 1779, 72 zolotniki replaced the 62 zolotniki as the minimum legal standard for the purity of silver. Pure silver consisted of 96 zolotniki, and the "84" stamped on the back of the clock here means that the silver content is 875 parts per 1000 pure silver, or .875 silver. (To calculate the weight in pure silver, take the standard number in the cartouche on the back and simply divide the number by 4 to get the silver weight, so 84 divided by 4 is 21, which is equivalent to 875 parts per 1000 pure silver, or .875 silver.)

In 1896, Tsar Nicholas II issued an edict that reformed the old hallmark system and the Kokoshnik mark came into being as the assayer's new mark, but it didn't come into full use until 1899, to account for the thousands of new die stamps that had to be created; the Russian hallmark system also included a mark for the city of production, the date of the piece, and sometimes the name of the maker (work master), and the marks on the backside of the clock here indicate the clock was made in Moscow before 1908.

"Guilloché" refers to an engraving technique that leaves intricate, repeating patterns on the surface of the clock, typically on the dial or case. These patterns are then filled with enamel, often translucent or semi-translucent, creating a striking, luxurious effect. This clock has a translucent oyster-white enamel face with a wavy guilloche ground, black Arabic numerals (chapters) on the face, pierced gold hands, the bezel surrounding the clock face has seed pearls around the border of the dial, the framed beveled edge is marked 56 K. Faberge in Cyrillic script with a kokoshnik mark next to it facing left, which means the framed edge is 14k gold and was made in Moscow before 1908. (Divide 56 by 4 to figure that out.) The feet are silver gilt, a silver scroll strut has a touch mark that reads 84 with the kokoshnik mark facing left and K. Faberge in Cyrillic script to the right of the two marks, which means the strut is .875 silver and was made in Moscow before 1908 as well, the clock movement is marked H. Moser & Cie on the inside, with an engraved serial number 25079 near the Moser & Cie name, there are two manual winds on both sides of the clock to set the day and month of the clock, the date and month are in French, and the clock works.

We know of only two other Faberge clocks with the calendar dates on them: one is a triangular clock at the Faberge museum in St. Petersburg that looks very much like the one we have at auction here, except that one was made for the Empress Maria Feodorovna and is in lilac, instead of the oyster-white enamel face of our clock, and it has the calendar day and month in Cyrillic; the other clock we saw with the calendar dates on it is rectangular, in white, and has the day and month in French script.

The Empress Maria Feodorovna was the wife of the Emperor Alexander III of Russia from 1881 to 1894, and she was the mother of Tsar Nicholas II, and the clock might have been a gift from her husband, Emperor Alexander III, or from her son, Tsar Nicholas II, we're not sure, but her clock is displayed at the Faberge museum in Russia, and we believe our triangular clock at auction here might have been made for the French aristocracy as well. It has all the bells and whistles to say "yes, our clock was made for royalty too", and you can see the Faberge clock of the Empress in the last photo.

The clock is 5 1/2 inches high, not counting the feet, and 5 inches wide, and is in very good condition. There is minor craquelure on the edge of the clock face, minor fatigue to the tip of the minute hand, which suggests the clock has never been repaired or restored, and that's about it. We had a jeweler in Sarasota open up the clock from the front side to see the Moser & Cie name and the engraved serial number inside - the jeweler specialized in high-end clocks -and it has Faberge markings on the back and underside. A friend of the consignor's great aunt bought the clock at a Faberge store in Russia over 100 year ago years ago, later it was gifted to the consignors's father, and it's been in the family ever since.

Provenance from the consignor: purchased by Yelena Sheluyhina in St. Petersburg prior to the Russian Revolution. She was a dentist in Riga Latvia and a close friend of my father's family. After WW II, Dr. Sheluyhina emigrated to the U.S. and brought the clock with her. Once in the U.S., she was responsible for my parents meeting in New York. Later she moved to Lakewood, N.J., she passed way about 90 and left the clock to my father! My father gifted it to me in 2022.

Markings on back and underside. 

Condition: Excellent condition. Works.

Provenance (From the Consignor): Purchased by Yelena Sheluyhina in St. Petersburg prior to Russian revolution. She was a dentist in Riga Latvia and aaclose friend of my father's family. She was also close to my mother's family, my mother's aunt worked as Dr. Sheluyhina's maid. After WWII, Dr. Sheluyhina emigrated to the U.S. and brought the clock with her. Once in the U.S., she was responsible for my parents meeting in New York. Later she moved to Lakewood, NJ, she passed away about 90 and left the clock to my father!

My father gifted me the clock in 2022.

Size: 5 x 6 1/8 x 2 in.