Art: Just to Look At

The royal visitor, the King of Bulgaria, was impressed with many things he saw in St. Petersburg, but what impressed him most was the man named Carl Fabergé. "My dear Fabergé," said King Ferdinand, "if you were in Bulgaria, I would make you my minister." To which the famous court jeweler replied, "No, no, your majesty, not politics, I beg of you. But minister of the goldsmith's art, why yes, sire, if you will it."

Carl Fabergé (a Russian subject who owed his name to French descent) had every right to the title, as most...

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