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Turtle Bell Push
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In creating luxurious accessories for a desk or tabletop, Fabergé often used native hardstones such as multicolored agate and jasper, green nephrite, pink rhodonite, and rock crystal found in the Ural Mountains of western Russia. By paying careful attention to the unique colors and textures of the stones, Fabergé and his craftsmen brought them to life, turning milky agate into this turtle bell push or black jasper into sleeping puppies. The use of native materials also promoted Russian nationalism, which appealed greatly to the tsar and his family.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTurtle Bell Push, c. 1895–1915. House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918). Agate, gold, silver, diamonds, rubies; overall: 2.6 x 7.7 x 6.1 cm (1 x 3 1/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The India Early Minshall Collection, 1966.473