Alexander Kelch Explained

Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch was a Russian nobleman who lived in St Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. He is remembered mainly as a patron of Fabergé, having commissioned the Kelch Gothic Revival silver service and seven eggs for his wife Barbara (Varvara).[1]

His wealth came from marrying his brother's widow Varvara Petrovna Bazanova, whose family had made a fortune in Siberian industry, particularly gold-mining. The Bazanov business empire collapsed after the Russo-Japanese War; the couple divorced in 1915, Varvara moving to Paris and Alexander remaining as a pauper in Russia; he was arrested and disappeared in Siberia in 1930.

References

Notes and References

  1. Book Review: From a Snowflake to an Iceberg: The McFerrin Collection . Gems & Gemology . 49 . 3 (Fall 2013). https://web.archive.org/web/20150916015154/https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/fa13-book-review-snowflake-iceberg-mcferrin-faberge. 2015-09-16. 14 September 2018.