This remarkably life-like study of rowan incorporates purpurine ranging from bright red fresh berries to purple for the blackened berries shrivelling in decay. The leaves, of mottled Siberian nephrite, are delicately carved to show every vein, even on the underside where the stonecutters and polishers have taken pains to replicate the matt surface. It was acquired by Queen Alexandra, who bequeathed it to her daughter Princess Victoria, following whose death in 1925 it passed to King George V.

Text adapted from Fabergé in the Royal Collection