by Pierre Gagnaux ©
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(click on photos to enlarge)FAKEBERGE'
FAkeBERGE (fake Fabergé) is the English version of the joke definition FAuxBERGE used
(in French) by A. de Solodkoff for items, maybe old, maybe Russian, but made by another
silversmith and enriched in their value and monetary worth by fake Fabergé hallmarks.
Now, a lot of rough copies of 'Fabergé pieces' are available on the market, and unscrupulous
dealers refer to ... 'export items' or some other oddity to justify their
provenance and workmanship quality.
On the photograph below right the trap is more subtle as this is a piece of old
manufacture, but, unfortunately, I'm not authorized to show it in its entirety.
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The hallmarks appear to be those of Julius Alexandrovitch Rappoport (1864-1916), working for the Fabergé
firm in its own establishment, using the punch of Moscow (period 1908-1917)
and the standard Fabergé silver fineness of '88 zolotniki' (916 thousandth silver).
Assumed that, unlike St. Petersburg, Fabergé didn't use in Moscow the punch of the head of
the workshop, this type of marking did not demonstrate that the object was certainly sold by
the Fabergé firm, but, above all, did not justify the occurrence that Rappoport never
worked in Moscow.
You may draw your deductions...
The object is of adequate quality and rather dirty and, at first glance it looks what it
claims to be, but ... at a more thorough analysis ... the suspicion arises . |
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We go now to another object and to the questions arising from the examination of its
markings.
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On the left there's the hallmark of another master silversmith: Mikhaïl Perchin (1860-1903),
the Fabergé mark, the Imperial Privilege of St-Petersburg and the mark of Moscow with the
silver fineness title of 84 zolotniki (875/1000).
Unfortunately the city control mark of Moscow is for the 1908-1917 period, that is, at
least five years after the death of Mikhaïl Perchin. |
The field of hallmarks is extremely wide and there's no shame to consult reference
books (better to compare two or three to avoid error).
And, undoubtedly, the study of Russian silver is particularly difficult, owing to the many
years elapsed before the well documented books on Imperial Russian silver hallmarks were
available.
An obvious and final suggestion if you buy Russian silver with a renowned signature:
sometimes the conclusion obtained after a clever and accurate analysis of the piece is
quite different from the appearance resulting either from the simple consultation of a
specialized library, the written warranty of the dealer and the excellence of its workmanship.
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But, I believe that my readers will be interested to see also the images of some authentic
Russian hallmarks.
As I said previously, the mark 'Fabergé' was not systematically punched on the silver
and usually only the Master's marks can be found.
Solodkoff in the book 'Fabergé Joaillier at the court of Russie' page 153, confirms that most
St-Pétersbourg production do not have the 'Fabergé' signature and is struck only with the initials
of the master head of the workshop.
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On the right you see a photo taken from page 120 of the book 'Fabergé' (by A. of Solodkoff,
Editions Atlas), with the 'signature' of Henrik Wigström and the silver title of
88 zolotniki for the town of St-Pétersbourg, but without the signature of Fabergé
(the details of this mark are quite better than on those of the previous photo).
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There's also another very rare and interesting mark, unseen on pieces of other
silversmiths, that I never saw elsewhere.
It is the title of 88 zolotniki in a square outline (I saw something similar only on a 84
zolotniki mark of the end of 18th century/beginning of 19th century).
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Beside this unusual mark (on the inside of a lid) there are the tops of two rivets
fixing the monogram to the lid.
The use of rivets is a characteristic of Russian silversmithing, as the objects were not
especially made but adapted, each time, to customer's requests.
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Pierre Gagnaux
photos by Pierre Gagnaux
English version translated by Giorgio Busetto and revised by Douglas Hawkes
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ASSOCIATION OF SMALL COLLECTORS OF ANTIQUE SILVER
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