The insurance scandal involving the Fabergé Bouquet of Yellow Lilies Clock Egg, which led to the 2008 public trial of Kamidian V Holt on behalf of certain underwriters at Lloyd’s at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, provides a unique window into the suspicious atmosphere reigning around Fabergé art works and Russian art in general. The 2008 trial, among other controversial cases described, produced clear evidence of the links between leading auction houses, experts and major insurance companies that allow these stakeholders to control and manipulate the Russian art market in Europe and the US. This article depicts the story of the Fabergé Imperial Bouquet of Yellow Lilies Clock Egg and other important Fabergé works, over a period of auction sales and exhibitions in Europe (Switzerland, France, Russia, and England) and the US spanning roughly 40 years. It reveals how decades of dubious affairs have created a sphere of negative prejudices around Russian art. Prejudices that have damaged and endangered Russia’s cultural heritage, and caused a lack of confidence among buyers. Unfortunately, the field of Fabergé art is just the top of the iceberg.
Read the full article by Michel Kamidian below