Fabergé comes to the Frick
PITTSBURGH — The Frick Art & Historical Center is presenting the first major exhibition of Fabergé objects to be shown in Pittsburgh.
Remaining on view through Jan. 15, “Fabergé: The Hodges Family Collection” features more than 100 objects made by the world-renowned House of Fabergé, goldsmith and jeweler to the Russian court.
The name Fabergé is synonymous with luxury objects of the highest order. Peter Carl Fabergé's father, Gustav, founded the family jewelry business in 1842, and by 1872 Peter Carl, known as Carl, was in charge. Although associated with the imperial family in Russia, which named Fabergé royal jeweler in 1884, the firm sold a wide array of luxury objects and household accessories to many wealthy clients.
The exhibition represents a broad range of the firm's output, including jeweled and enameled photograph frames, tableware, jewelry, clocks, desk accessories, boxes, and smoking accessories — all reflecting Fabergé's use of both precious and semi-precious materials.
One of the most famous and historically significant objects in the exhibition is the Bismarck Box, an imperial presentation piece made by Fabergé for Tsar Alexander III to present to Prince Otto von Bismarck of Germany. The Louis XVI-style snuffbox bears a watercolor miniature of the Tsar on the lid, surrounded by brilliant-cut diamonds on a rich red enamel ground.
To complement this exhibition, the Frick is displaying select items from its collection of fine 18th- and 19th-century Russian decorative arts, including an enameled Russian tea set made by A.I. Kuzmichev, purchased by Henry Clay Frick through Tiffany & Co. in 1894, and Russian silver purchased by Helen Clay Frick.
Both exhibitions are part of a unique sitewide Fabergé experience at the Frick that includes a special installation at Henry Clay Frick's former mansion, Clayton. “All That Glitters: Luxury in the Gilded Age” focuses on decorative luxury objects in the collection manufactured by firms such as Tiffany, Gorham, and Bailey, Banks and Biddle.
The installation also features Rolls-Royce automobiles in the Car and Carriage Museum.
Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and until 9 p.m. Thursdays.
The site is closed Saturday and Sunday, and Jan. 1.
Docent-led tours of the “Fabergé” exhibition start at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Call 412-371-0600 for more information or visit http://TheFrickPittsburgh.org.
