Pair of Cockatoos
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Perched on a T-shaped ivory stand is a pair of topaz cockatoos with ruby eyes and gold feet. They are connected by gold chains to a pink enamel and gold mount set in a nephrite base supported by four gold ball feet. Carl Fabergé was particularly fond of birds and kept a pet cockatoo. Such hardstone animals were a popular part of Faberge's output in the early decades of the 20th century. Inspired by Japanese netsuke, which Fabergé collected in great numbers, these tiny animals have a life-like quality. Fabergé was even commissioned to make portraits of specific pets, most famously for King Edward VII and his wife Queen Alexandra.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Dr. N. Dorin Ischlondsky [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1961, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2003-2004 | The Fabergé Menagerie. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Portland Art Museum, Portland. |
| 1984 | Objects of Vertu: Precious Works of the Eighteenth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Russia, St. Petersburg (Place of Origin)
Measurements
4 in. (10.16 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. N. Dorin Ischlondsky, 1961
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.1913
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