Showcase 20. Panagias of the XVIII - XIXth centuries. Jewellery articles by Faberge Firm

Pectoral insignia of the higher clergy, panagias, form a collection of their own. Panagias as small icons, worn on a chain over other vestments, have been used since the ancient times. In the XVth-XVIth centuries the so-called "travelling" panagias consisted of two halves, pivotally connected and decorated with scenes of "Our Lady of the sign", "The Trinity", "Crucifixion" and "The Ascension". At the close of the XVIth century these small icons were being decorated with enamels, pearls and precious stones. By the XVIIIth century the "presentation" (or granted) panagias with miniature portraits of Tsars on the reverse have been used as secular jewellery.

The collection reveals not only the history of the jewellery-making in Russia over two centuries, but also the changing fashion for precious stones. The XVIIIth century was fond of vivid, rich colourful emeralds, sapphires, rubies. In the XIXth century stones of delicate light colours were in demand. Glittering, well-cut diamonds were executed in keeping with the austere forms of classicism.

In the XIXth century the production of gold and silver articles in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg became concentrated in large workshops, firms and factories, equipped with new machinery. The largest jewellery firm in Russia, known all over the world, was the House of Faberge, founded in 1842 in Saint-Petersburg by Gustav Faberge. The firm employed over 500 craftsmen and produced great number of jewellery articles, i.e. snuff-boxes, powder-cases, perfume holders, lorgnettes, earrings etc., which reveal outstanding technical skills and artistic originality. Carl Faberge invented souvenirs of various materials in the form of Easter eggs with a surprise inside, which became extremely popular. He engaged talented artists to his workshop and the most renowned artist was M. Perkhin, a self-taught jeweller. Almost all the Faberge Easter presents were made at Perkhin's workshop.

Materials used by Faberge included metals - silver, gold, copper, nickel, palladium - that were combined in varying proportions to produce different colors. The Faberge firm was famous for its enamels with their translucent colours and interesting technique of using up to 500 shades in the enamel palette. Another technique used by Faberge included guilloche, an engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive patterns or design is mechanically etched into an underlying material with very fine detail. Faberge used natural stones i.e. jasper, bowenite, rhodonite, rock crystal, agate, aventurine quartz, lapis lazuli and jade. Precious stones (sapphires, rubies and emeralds) were used only for decoration and played role of final decorative accents. The ability to achieve perfection of forms not only in the quality of the precious materials used is typical of the work by the Faberge firm's craftsmen.

Its position as "purveyor to the Court" gave an austere elite quality to the firm's articles which formed the taste of the Russian jewellers and their customers as well.