A master jeweler celebrated for his fanciful creations, Peter Carl Fabergé elevated the art of exquisite guilloché enameling to new heights. Fabergé was the world’s greatest master of this art form, a time-intensive technique in which polychrome enamel is layered over circular, straight, or wave patterns engraved on metal.

The Met Museum’s gold-plated, hand-enameled frame with glass crystals is based on a gold picture frame with guilloché enamel in the Museum’s collection, created by Fabergé’s studios about 1899–1908. Features hand-enameling with gold overlay and glass crystals.

In 1870, a 24 year old Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian, 1846–1920) took over his father’s jewelry business in St. Petersburg, Russia. With the help of his brother Agathon, he cultivated the patronage of the last two czars of the Romanov dynasty and the elite of Edwardian society.

Peter Carl Fabergé; revolutionized the way jewelry was evaluated in Russian society by emphasizing design creativity and workmanship over the use of precious stones and metals.

Frame displays a 3½"x3½" photo or print.

To view the complete collection, visit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art® Collection