Fabergé flowers bloom in saleroom

Two rare Fabergé flowers have been bought by an anonymous phone buyer for a combined price of £340,000 at Hansons London sale.

The Fabergé burberry bush sold for £160,000, while a morning glory blossom made £180,000, with both flowers exceeding their estimates of £100,000 to £150,000 each.

Three phone bidders battled it out to own the botanical studies, which sparked strong interest from Russia.

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons London, which sold the flowers at its saleroom at the Normansfield Theatre, Teddington, said, “I am thrilled both for our client and bidder who has secured some of the rarest masterpieces of the goldsmith’s art ever to be offered at auction.

“Right from the start, there was great excitement and interest in these two flower studies, which came from the late Lady Juliet Duff’s personal collection.”

Mr Hanson called the discovery of the two rare Fabergé flowers his most significant find ever.

The jewelled ornaments were taken along to Hansons London’s valuation office in Hampton Court Village after their owner saw a Fabergé flower, valued at £1m, uncovered by TV’s Antiques Roadshow in March.

Mr Hanson continued, “A lady came along carrying a humble cardboard box. Inside, wrapped in an old tea towel, was the holy grail of what an auctioneer can expect only in their wildest of dreams – not one, but two, Fabergé flowers.

“The two botanical studies, created by Fabergé in Imperial Russia, were crafted in the early 20th century, circa 1907-1910, and are six inches long. These are ‘objects de fantaisie’, simply made for guests to admire.”