Imperial Framed Miniatures

1896

Imperial Framed Miniatures, 1896. Johannes Zehngraf (Russian, 1857–1908), Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (Russian, 1860–1903), House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918). Jade, gold, rubies, gouache, ivory, glass; overall: 15.3 x 5 x 5 cm (6 x 1 15/16 x 1 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.458 The giving of miniatures had long been a common practice among wealthy and aristocratic families by the time Fabergé began combining portraits with his richly decorated frames. The Russian imperial family delighted in having these personal mementos and commissioned many different miniatures to place around their private apartments, providing a warm family atmosphere in an otherwise highly formal existence. The tsar gave the miniature of himself to the tsarina, and in turn, she gave the miniature of their firstborn child, Grand Duchess Olga Nicoaievna to the tsar a year after their daughter's birth. .