RUSSIAN ADVENTURES

Tsar and Tsarina entertain Lynette at the Marble Palace in Russia.

While researching material for my book “The Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs”, I was travelling to Russia every 6 weeks.  This routine continued for 6 years, where my co-author, Tatiana Fabergé and I searched through hundreds of dusty boxes filled with documents scattered in various Palaces and Museums.  However, we did find several important documents and a Fabergé ledger in the Russian State Historical Archives in St. Petersburg.

Lynette and Tatiana Fabergé researching inside the Russian State Historical Archives.

Standing in front of the Russian Historical Archives buildings & the bronze statue of Peter the Great with Tatiana Fabergé and Valentin Skurlov.

I particularly liked working in the State Hermitage Museum, and totally enthralled by the furnishings and art.  I was thrilled to get to know many of the artists and restorers who worked at the Museum.  One of the highlights of my life was being invited into the art restoration studios.  There were various masterpieces by Veronese, Raphael, Corot and others waiting for the magic touch of a restorer.   I was standing right next to a well-known Raphael and was tempted to put my fingerprint on it, but was afraid that the Palace police would drag me away, put me in jail, and my children would never see me again!

I was really taken aback by the prodigious 18^th century skills of the restorers.  It was as though I had stepped back in time to the 18^th century when the palace furnishings and techniques were at their zenith.  I was in seventh heaven, and my clients in the US were fascinated with the gorgeous objects I was making available to them for the first time. 

A BIRDCAGE  FIT FOR THE TSARINA

   Original drawing by leading professor of St. Petersburg art school.

I asked a professor from the leading art school in St. Petersburg to come up with detailed drawings of various sized birdcages.  I outlined exactly what I wanted.  During these sessions we had to have a lot of patience, as I was the only person who didn’t speak Russian.  I would construct a sentence.  This would then be translated, and all the Russian work masters there would have a lengthy discussion, and finally it would be translated back into English.  This method was repeated about 50 times a night, so our meetings always went on into the wee hours. We all had to have great patience.   But, obviously I was getting my thoughts through to everyone, as the first drawing the professor presented was the design I chose.  When I returned to Dallas, where I was living at the time, I showed the drawings to a client, and she then took them to her architect, who loved the whole idea.  They had the perfect area for it and set the dimensions:  40 inches in height x 60 inches in length by 30 inches in depth.  A hand-carved mahogany and giltwood table was created to support the birdcage.

Lynette in St. Petersburg overseeing the project.

Those of you whom have had the privilege of visiting Russia will remember the glorious patterned flooring in the palaces. Our floor of the birdcage was to be just as exquisite, and made of Palisander wood.  In the course below the flooring was a band of nephrite jade panels that encircled the entire birdcage.  I brought special lighting from the US with me which was installed under the wood floor and lit up the jade.  Each of the 16 marbled columns was entwined with garlands actually made of silver and later finished to look like ormolu.  The columns were then capped with ormolu capitals.  On the roof were large curved brass triangular panels which were acid etched with exquisite designs leading up to the giltwood Russian style Onion Domes.  It took almost two years to complete the birdcage and was a great success, but even though we had installed a jade bird on a swing there would be no twittering in this golden birdcage. 

The birdcage finally arrives at client’s residence in Dallas, Texas.