Description
This baby hippo was purchased by Henry Walters, the founder of the Walters Art Museum, on a trip to St. Petersburg in 1900. It was one of four hardstone animals that he acquired for his collection on this cruise. Henry, ever ahead of trends, was one of the first Americans to shop at the newly opened store belonging to Carl Fabergé, jeweler to the Russian royal family. He would have known Fabergé's exceptional work from the Paris World's Fair, which he had visited in this same year. Henry went on to purchase two Imperial Easter Eggs by Fabergé following the Russian revolution. Today the Walters has a rich collection of Russian art from the time of the Romanovs.
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