Faberge's Animals: A Royal Farm in Miniature

In 1907 King Edward VII and his consort, Queen Alexandra, commissioned Peter Carl Faberge to create miniature hardstone carvings of all the animals on their sprawling country estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. Domestic or wild, each creature was to be rendered in hardstone adorned with rose diamonds, emeralds, and rubies by the celebrated Russian goldsmith and jeweler, whose name was already synonymous the world over with opulence and grandeur. Faberge’s Animals takes the reader on a dazzling tour of the Sandringham commission—the largest collection of Faberge’s hardstone animal carvings in existence. The book brings the magic of this miniature menagerie to life with photographs, sketches, and other documentary material—some never before seen—from both the Russian and royal archives. Along with a historical introduction to the royal patronage behind the commission, this stunning volume includes information on Faberge's workshops and carvers, and the materials and special techniques they employed. With more than 150 lavish full-color photographs—many newly commissioned—Faberge’s Animals is a resplendently beautiful book.