When the imperial Russian goldsmith Peter Carl Fabergé opened a store in London, in 1903, the news met a frosty reception in St. Petersburg. “Now that that silly Fabergé has his shop in London,” complained Maria Feodorovna to her sister Queen Alexandra of England, “you have everything, and I can’t send you anything new, so I am furious.” Exchanging gifts was an important protocol in Edwardian society, a facet of the social balls and weekend house parties that defined a season. Until World War I officially ended the era, it was a golden age of gift giving.
Immediately, the higher echelons of British society flocked to Fabergé to buy exquisite bejeweled flower and animal studies. Jeweled bell pushes to summon a servant, bonbonnières, smoking accessories, enameled dog bells, table clocks, photograph frames, and figurines assembled from Siberian stones—all were among the objets de fantaisie that graced the tables in stately houses across the land.
