A heart-shaped silver-gilt pill box, overall enamelled in yellow over a basket weave guilloché ground, set centrally with a gold-rimmed diamond and further enhanced with a pearl-set bezel.
Michael Yevlampievitch Perchin (1860-1903) was Fabergé’s second, and most gifted head workmaster, active from 1884 until 1903. During these years, he supervised the production of the imperial Easter eggs. All but one, famous Fabergé large Imperial Eggs made before Perchin’s death in 1903, bear the hallmark of his workshop.
The period when Perchin was in charge of Fabergé’s works is acknowledged as being particularly innovative, with the firm’s output covering a great range of different object types and styles. With the arrival of Perchin at the Fabergé firm in 1884 and his appointment as head workmaster, Fabergé began to experiment in translucent guilloché enamels and hardstone carvings.
