Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Swan Kovsh
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The swan's head and neck are rendered in red and green gold with exceptional attention being given to the delineation of the feathers and their veins. Its tail, which serves as the handle for this thinly carved nephrite kovsh, is also in gold and is reeded and wrapped around a Russian five-ruble coin bearing the likeness of Nicholas II. The inscription on its face reads in Cyrillic: His Imperial Majesty Nicholas Emperor, Autocrat of Russia, By the Grace of God and on its reverse, in Cyrillic: Five Rubles 1898.
Although the insertion of coins into the surfaces of silver vessels can be traced to the 17th century, if not earlier, Fabergé has elaborated on the practice by applying a bright strawberry red, en plein enamel to the background of the image.
Inscription
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.
Sir Charles Clore Sale, Sotheby's, London, October 28, 1985, Lot 183; Jean M. Riddell, Washington, D.C., 1985, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2017-2018 | Fabergé and the Russian Crafts Tradition: An Empire's Legacy . The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Russia, St. Petersburg (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 1 7/8 × W: 3 7/8 × D: 1 13/16 in. (4.8 × 9.9 × 4.6 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Jean M. Riddell, 2010
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
44.974