RH-5416/29, Feb. 17, 1939

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] Article No. RH-5416/29 Parasol handle of limpid clear rock crystal etched in open squared effect, pointed throughout with cabochon rubies. The base is of solid gold and is encircled with a conventionalized laurel wreath, intermittently bound with crossed ribbons. Designed by Carl Fabergé, famed jeweler not only to the Imperial family of Russia but to the crowned heads of Europe and Asia, it is fully hallmarked. Present is the name “Fabergé” (indistinct); the Russian initials of one of the master’s leading artists, Mikhail Perchin; the wreathed head of the government assay office; the numeral “56” denoting the Russian equivalent of 14kt. gold; and the initials of the government inspector “YL”. Originally a parasol handle in the possession of the Tsarina Aleksandra Feodorovna of Russia, a flat base has been applied so that the little object may be used as a seal. From the personal effects of the Tsarina in the Aleksandr Palace, Tsarskoye Selo. Mrs. John L. Pratt February 17, 1939 FROM THE HAMMER COLLECTION – 682 FIFTH AVENUE – NEW YORK