Alexander Kelch

Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch was a Russian nobleman who lived in St Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. He is remembered mainly as a patron of Fabergé, having commissioned the Kelch Gothic Revival silver service and seven eggs ^{[note 1]} for his wife Barbara (Varvara).^[2]

His wealth came from marrying his brother's widow Varvara Petrovna Bazanova, whose family had made a fortune in Siberian industry, particularly gold-mining. The Bazanov business empire collapsed after the Russo-Japanese War; the couple divorced in 1915, Varvara moving to Paris and Alexander remaining as a pauper in Russia; he was arrested and disappeared in Siberia in 1930.^[3]

Notes

1. Hen (1898),^[1] Twelve Panel (1899), Pine Cone (1900), Apple Blossom (1901), Rocaille (1902), Bonbonnière (1903), and Chanticleer (1904).

References

1. "The Kelch Hen Egg (1898): A Faberge gold, enamel and jeweled easter egg". Michael Perchin (Workmaster). St. Petersburg: Treasures of Imperial Russia. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
2. "Book Review: From a Snowflake to an Iceberg: The McFerrin Collection". Gems & Gemology. 49 (3 (Fall 2013)). Archived from the original on 2015-09-16. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
3. Reif 1997.

• Reif, Rita (30 March 1997). "For the Fabulous Eggs, The Magic Only Grows". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2012.