Peter Carl Fabergé

Jeweller, goldsmith, silversmith, merchant, industrialist. Cousin of Carl Wenig. Born in St Petersburg (1846) in the family of Gustav Fabergé and his Swedish wife Charlotte Jungstedt (1820–1903). Studied at the Annenschule in St Petersburg (1850s) and Handelsschule in Dresden (early 1860s). Apprenticed to Joseph Friedmann in Frankfurt-on-Main (mid-1860s) and studied art collections in Great Britain, Italy and France (late 1860s). Returned to St Petersburg (1870), where he trained under Peter Hiskias Pendin at his father’s workshop (1870s). Repaired and restored objects in the Imperial Hermitage (1870). Married his cousin Augusta Julia Jacobs (1872), who gave birth to sons Eugène (1874), Agathon (1876), Alexander (1877) and Nicholas (1884). Moved into new premises at 16/18 Bolshaya Morksaya Street (1881). Assumed ownership of his father’s firm (1882) and employed his younger brother Agathon as a designer (1882). Awarded the title of official purveyor to the imperial court (1885) and the right to display the imperial court of arms (1896). Opened a shop on Kuznetsky Most in Moscow (1887) and a factory at 4 Bolshoi Kisel Lane (1890). Appointed court jeweller to King Oscar II of Sweden (1897). Awarded the Légion d’honneur (1900). Moved into new premises at 24 Bolshaya Morskaya Street in St Petersburg (1900). Opened branches in Odessa (1900), London (1903) and Kiev (1905) and traded with India, Siam and China (from 1908). Created works celebrating the Tercentenary of the House of Romanov (1913). Formed a joint-stock partnership called C. Fabergé with a capital of three million roubles (1916). Suffered the nationalisation of his business and the confiscation of his assets (1918). Escaped to Riga on the last diplomatic train disguised as a courier with the British legation (1918). Moved to Germany (1919) and Switzerland (1920). Died at the Hôtel Bellevue in Pully on Lake Geneva and cremated in Lausanne (1920). Reburied alongside his wife at the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes (1929). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1882). Contributed to the Pan-Russian Exhibition of Art and Industry in Moscow (1882, gold medal), Internationale Ausstellung von Arbeiten aus Edlen Metallen und Legierungen in Nuremberg (1885, gold medal), Nordic Exhibition of Industry, Agriculture and Art in Copenhagen (1888, diploma), Pan-Russian Exhibition of Art and Industry in Nizhny Novgorod (1896), Allmänna konst- och industriutställningen in Stockholm (1897), Exposition Universelle in Paris (1900), Fabergé: 1846–1920 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (1977), Golden Treasure Trove of the Russian Museum at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (1998), Peter Karl Fabergé: Jeweler to the Czar at the Riverfront Arts Center in Wilmington (2000–01), Russian Odyssey: Riches of the State Russian Museum at the Florida International Museum in St Petersburg (2003–04), Treasures of the Czars in the Moscow Kremlin Museums at Oca in the Parque do Ibirapuera in Sâo Paolo (2005), Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin at the Alexander Radischev Museum of Art in Saratov (2005) and Samara Regional Museum of Art in Samara (2005–06), Fabergén aika at the Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere (2006), Russian Silver (18th to Early 20th Centuries) at the Ivan Shemanovsky Museum and Exhibition Complex of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District in Salekhard (2010–11), Golden Age of Russian Jewellery Art at the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Complex of History, Architecture and Art in Vladimir (2010–11), Russian Jewelry – Traditions and Modern Day at the Estet Jewelry House in Moscow (2011), Fabergé: The Hodges Family Collection at the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh (2011–12), Gold: Metal of Gods and King of Metals at the History Museum in Moscow (2012), Treasures of the Czars in the Moscow Kremlin Museums at Oca in the Parque do Ibirapuera in Sâo Paolo (2005), Fabergén aika at the Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere (2006), Empress Maria Fedorovna: A Life and Fate at the Federal Archives Exhibition Hall in Moscow (2006), Royal Fabergé at Buckingham Palace in London (2011), Il gioielliere degli ultimi Zar at La Venaria Reale in Turin (2012), Fabergé: The Rise and Fall at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit (2012–13), World of Fabergé at the Shanghai Museum in Shanghai (2012–13), Fabergé: Legacy of Imperial Russia at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Hong Kong (2013) and Fabergé: A Brilliant Vision at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston (2013).