Touted as being one of the last groups of Fabergé miniature animals still in private hands, the collection of 30 animals came from the Castle Howard estate, headed by Nicholas Howard whose family has lived at the stately home in North Yorkshire for more than 300 years. “I’m sad to be losing this beautiful collection,” said Howard, “but it deserves to be seen more often than it currently is. The proceeds will assist us in the recreation of the tapestry drawing room, which will be seen by everyone who comes through the house.”
The highest price of the sale, held at Sotheby’s Geneva, was for a jewelled rhino carved from obsidian, which sold for $523,000 including 27% buyer’s premium. Dating from c.1900, the rhino was the largest of the animals in the sale, at 23cm long with gold-set yellow diamond eyes. Coming in second was a carved bloodstone anteater, also c.1900, with diamond-set eyes that sold for $476,000 – nearly four times its upper estimate. The smallest animal in the collection was a smoky quartz model of a vole with diamond set eyes, measuring just 2.4cm long. Estimated to sell for around $55,000, it made double that at $100,000.
The choice of mineral for each carving was taken very seriously by the craftsmen at Fabergé, as noted in the Sotheby’s catalogue: ‘The choice of this present example of obsidian [for the rhino] is demonstrative of this careful consideration for materials. Whilst obsidian – a volcanic mineral formed from quickly cooled lava – is commonly very dark in colour, the present specimen is an example of sheen obsidian. This is where gas bubbles in from the molten lava flow formed patterns which remained in the cooled stone, giving effects such as a shimmering variation in tone visible in changing lights. This effect gives the present rhinoceros a charmingly realistic finish, with the patterns in the stone mimicking the wrinkles in a rhinoceros’s skin.’
For a full feature on Fabergé’s carved animals, see the Winter 2025 issue of Antiques to Vintage magazine.
