82041: A Fabergé Gem-Set Gilt Silver-Mounted Nephrite

A Fabergé Gem-Set Gilt Silver-Mounted Nephrite Vase On Tortoise-Form Feet Fabergé, Workmaster Mikhail Perkhin, St. Petersburg, circa 1890, with scratched inventory number 46968 3-3x8 x 2-1x8 inches (8.6 x 5.4 cm) 146 grams (gross) PROVENANCE: Eleanor Post Close; Antal Post de Bekessy; Sotheby's, Paris, December 19, 2017, lot 508. The offered lot, which may have been intended for use as a spill vase, shows all the hallmarks of the best works in nephrite, utilizing well-chosen stone of exceptional quality, carved to translucency and seamlessly fitted with mounts in the Neoclassical taste. The tortoise-form feet are an unusual touch but are an excellent example the house's well-known abilities in the field of animalier sculptural work. Eleanor Post Close was the daughter of heiress and noted Fabergé collector Marjorie Merriweather Post (American, 1887-1973) and her first husband, investment banker Edward Bennet Close (American, 1882-1955). Born in Greenwich and raised in New York, Miss Close attended the Spence School and Miss Porter's in Farmington, Connecticut. Raised at the center of transatlantic society, she became known, like her mother, as an avid collector of fine and decorative art. Married five times, Eleanor Post Close's last marriage to the Belgian-American conductor Leon Eugene Barzin lasted from 1954 until his death in 1999. Her daughter from her fourth marriage, Antal "Tony" Mikos Post de Bekessy (1944-2015) was an influential tastemaker in Paris, whose collections were dispersed after her death at Sotheby's, Paris, December 19, 2017. Property of a Lady HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
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