THE MOUNTS MARKED FABERGÉ, WITH THE WORKMASTER’S MARK OF VIKTOR AARNE, ST PETERSBURG, 1899-1904, THE VASE SIGNED LOUIS C. TIFFANY AND NUMBERED O7233, CIRCA 1900

The present vase, according to Kenneth Snowman, was a wedding gift to Prince and Princess Cantacuzène (A.K. Snowman, Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia, New York, 1983, pp. 62-63). Julia Dent Grant, granddaughter of the American President Ulysses S. Grant, married Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène, a Russian general and diplomat, in Newport, Rhode Island, in September 1899. The newly wedded couple left Newport aboard the yacht of family friend Henry Walters, destined for France to collect some belongings, before travelling on to Russia, where they would make their home (J. Grant Cantacuzène, My Life Here and There, New York, 1922, p. 205). While residing in St Petersburg, the Princess was one of the earliest recorded American clients of Fabergé. She introduced Henry Walters to Fabergé’s shop during his visit, starting him on his way to building an important collection. Prince and Princess Cantacuzène remained in the Russian capital until the Revolution, when they escaped via Finland to the United States.
Another Tiffany Favrile glass vase with Fabergé silver mounts was sold Christie’s, New York 25 October 1988, lot 154.