Fabergé gold-mounted purpurine ashtray, St. Petersburg, 1908-1913

Purpurine, gold, natural pearls 

11/16 x 3 3/8 x 1 1/4 in. (1.7 x 8.6 x 3.1 cm)

Inv. no. ab_0224 

Purpurine is an opaque red glass that can be cut and polished like a hardstone.

Provenance: 

Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna (1847-1928) purchased this ashtray described as a “Purpurine ashtray, gold, 4 pearls” for 185 rubles on May 3, 1913.

Exhibited: 

New York, A la Vieille Russie. April 21-May 22, 1983. “Fabergé, a loan exhibition for the benefit of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum,” no. 276.

Publications:

Fabergé, a loan exhibition for the benefit of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. New York: A la Vieille Russie, 1983, no. 276, p. 88.