Miniature Chair

1896–1906

Miniature Chair, 1896–1906. House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918). Gold, silver gilt, enamel, rubies, diamonds; overall: 10.5 x 5.3 x 4.8 cm (4 1/8 x 2 1/16 x 1 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.454 The giving of small precious objects as intimate gifts between family members within the imperial court was spurred by the House of Fabergé's seemingly endless supply of bejeweled utilitarian objects decorated as expensively as possible, such as this stamp holder disguised as an exquisite miniature chair in the Louis XVI taste of the late 1700s. This miniature chair has a clever mechanism that allows the seat cushion to slide forward and upward slightly so that it can be opened to reveal a compartment, probably used to hold stamps on a desk.