| A gift in 1901 from Grand Duke Michael Michaelovitch to his wife Countess Sophie von Merenberg, a granddaughter of Pushkin, on the 10th anniversary of their marriage. The gilded silver and guilloche enamel frame features a Roman numeral 'X' with a wreath at its center, surrounded by four heart-shaped frames enclosing photographs of Grand Duke Michael (1860-1929) at the top, daughters Anastasia (b. 1892) at the left and Nadezhda (b.1896) on the right, and son Michael (b. 1898) at the base, with their birth dates and framed scenes of their houses. By FABERGE, workmaster Viktor Aarne. St. Petersburg, 1899-1908. Height: 7 1/2 inches Width: 5 1/8 inches Provenance: Grand Duke Michael was a grandson of Nicholas I and a nephew of Alexander II, and, although the majority of his collection of Faberge was at Luton Hoo, this frame descended in his family, as follows: Countess Sophie Nicholaievna von Merenberg, created Countess Torby; her daughter, Nadezhda (Nada), who married George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven; their son, David, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven; and his son, Lord Ivar Mountbatten. Exhibited & illustrated : Faberge, Hofjuwelier der Zaren, Munich, 1986-7, no. 487.
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