Two gems from the House of Fabergé will star in Paris auction house Rossini's Russian art sale, tomorrow (November 25).
Peter Carl Fabergé (1846-1920) remains best known for his famous Fabergé eggs, made in the style of genuine Easter eggs but using precious metals and gemstones.
The star lot in Rossini's will offer collectors a rare and fascinating combination of two of Fabergé's great interests: art and stamp collecting.
A rectangular, red and pink guilloche box built by Fabergé to hold stamps is going under the hammer with a €40,000-50,000 estimate at tomorrow's sale.
 Designed to hold stamps, this Fabergé box is dated to 1899-1908 |
Measuring 2.5 x 3.5 x 8 cm, the rectangular box's features include a central laurel crown motif and cabochon (a polished, rather than faceted, gemstone) sapphire.
 Also appearing in the sale is a classic |
Within the box are three compartments, no doubt included to divide Fabergé's meticulously-organised philatelic collection. The box is dated to 1899-1908.
What's more, the box boasts remarkable provenance as well as craftsmanship, having previously been owned by Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, himself.
As well as featuring in the My Way singer's collection, the box was also exhibited in the "A La Vieille Russie", New York in 1961 according to Rossini's lot notes.
It will auction tomorrow estimated at €40,000-50,000 ($67,632).
The turn-of-the-century box will sell alongside a more traditional treasure from Fabergé's history: a 4 cm tall Golden egg decorated with rose cut diamonds, estimated at €13,000-15,000 ($20,290).
Meanwhile, collectors have a chance to get a taste of Carl Fabergé's other hobby in New York, where a pair of stamps once owned by the artist is auctioning with a $75,000 pre-sale estimate.
Billed as one of the 'most important' Russian stamp pairs on the market and dating to 1883-88, the pair of 1k orange invert stamps will be auctioned by Cherrystone on December 16.
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