A rare Russian gold, diamond, & guilloché enamel Imperial presentation bracelet, I.E. Morozov, St. Petersburg, 1908-1917. The articulated bracelet composed of a series of oval links centered with a gold heptafoil link, the front enameled translucent white over a wavy engine-turned ground & applied with a diamond-set Imperial double-headed eagle, the edges of the link engraved with a band of stylized flowers, with guard chain, & struck with 56 standard for gold & obscured maker’s mark, possibly CyrillicASfor Andrei Ferdinandovich Seppänen, one of the firm’s jeweler-silversmiths. Contained in its original fitted blue leather-bound Imperial presentation box of the firm of I.E. Morozov, the interior of the hinged lid stamped in black Cyrillic lettersI.E. Morozov S.P.B.beneath the Imperial warrant, the cover stamped with a gilt Imperial eagle. The interior of the box with handwritten inventory number number 25493, possibly of the Office of the Chancellor of the Ministry of the Imperial Court (kantselyariya Ministerstva Imperatorskogo Dvora), on the interior of the box & the underside of the velvet form on which the bracelet rests. Length (open): 7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm).
Imperial presentation bracelets were made by Fabergé, Morozov, & several other jewelers who had been granted the title of Purveyor to the Court. These bracelets were made in rather small numbers & few have survived. On Imperial presentation bracelets, see Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm,The Russian Imperial Award System 1894-1917(Helsinki, 2005), p. 200. The firm of Ivan Ekimovich Morozov was founded in 1849 & became purveyors to the Imperial court in 1894. One of the largest firms in St. Petersburg, they supplied the court with presentation jewelry, cigarette cases, silver table services, & crosses for members of the clergy.