Russian peasant girl

Peter Carl Fabergé

Not on view

This figurine is an exceptionally rare extant example of a Russian folkloristic figure composed of Siberian hardstones and purpurine. The deep crimson material known as purpurine was a variety of a similar chemically made glass known in the eighteenth-century workshops of Murano, near Venice. The manufacture of purpurine would appear to have been brought about by the crystallization of a lead chromate in a glass matrix, resulting in an extremely durable material of great beauty, on account of both the intensity and the unique depth of its sang-de-boeuf color. The House of Fabergé seems to have had the exclusive use of this remarkable material. The mark C. FABERGÉ, inscribed in English, indicates that the object was destined for the firm's shop in London.

Russian peasant girl, Peter Carl Fabergé (1846–1920), Jasper, sapphire, purpurine, nephrite, jade, Russian, St. Petersburg

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.