Why a Tiny Silver Fabergé Rhino Sold for £704,750

A silver rhino that outpriced a London home

On November 27, 2017, Christie's in London sold lot 204, catalogued as an extremely rare imperial silver rhinoceros automaton by Fabergé, St Petersburg, circa 1909. It sold for £704,750 including the buyer's premium, against a pre-sale estimate of £300,000 to £400,000. According to Fabergé's own report on that week's Russian art sales in London, it was the second-highest price of the week, behind a Louis XVI sedan chair at £788,750.

The object is small: 2 7/8 inches, or 7.4 centimeters, wide. Its body is oxidized silver, cast and chased to imitate the coarse texture of rhinoceros skin. Wound with its original silver key, it rolls slowly on ratcheted wheels, lifting its head up and down while its tail swings from side to side. It came in its original silk- and velvet-lined wooden case, stamped with the Fabergé name beneath the Imperial warrant. Watch the 30-second version above for the quick telling.

From a £60 ledger entry to a queen's birthday

Christie's traced the rhino's likely path through royal hands, and the hedges in that account matter. Fabergé's London ledgers record that Lord Howe, a Lord Chamberlain, bought an automated rhinoceros from the London branch for £60 on November 3, 1909. Christie's says this rhino was probably that purchase. Later that year, Lord Howe gave it to Queen Alexandra for her sixty-fifth birthday. Howe's Wikipedia biography identifies him as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Alexandra from 1903 until her death in 1925.

From there, Christie's says Alexandra possibly gave it to her sister, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, during one of her visits to England. The next step is stated more firmly. Around 1914 or 1915, the dowager empress gave it to her grandson, Prince Vasili Alexandrovich, then a boy of about seven, as a toy. Christie's essay suggests it may have been meant to raise his spirits during an illness. In 2003, the father of the owner who sold it in 2017 acquired it from the prince's descendants.

Rarity, a famous maker and a royal trail

Rarity is the first factor. Christie's lists this as one of only four known Fabergé rhinoceros automatons, all apparently unmarked and very similar in size. Its catalog essay notes that “automatons are amongst the rarest objects produced by Fabergé,” and describes the known examples as important, specific commissions.

The maker's name carries its own weight. Fabergé is the house behind the imperial Easter eggs made for the Russian tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II, and that association tends to lift anything credibly linked to it. The catalog is careful on this point: the rhino itself appears to be unmarked, and the Fabergé name is stamped on its case.

Then there is the story. Auction reports do not say why bidders went so high, but collectors tend to pay heavily for objects that can be placed in famous hands, and this one plausibly passed from a British queen to the Russian imperial family. That is likely a large part of why bidding ran so far past the estimate.

Putting £704,750 in context

The comparison with London housing holds, with a qualifier. According to the UK House Price Index, the average London property price in November 2017 was £481,915, so the rhino sold for more than the average London home that month. Plenty of individual London houses cost far more; the average covers every type of property.

The £60 figure needs care, too. It is the price recorded in 1909, not adjusted for inflation, so it is not a like-for-like comparison with 2017. And the link between this rhino and that ledger entry is a deduction. The piece has no scratched inventory number, and Christie's reached its conclusion by ruling out the other known examples and following the close ties between Alexandra, her sister and the young prince.

The result is still telling. A small mechanical animal that probably cost £60 in 1909 seems to owe most of its later value to who owned it, how few like it are known and the name stamped on its case.

Questions people ask

Is the silver rhino really by Fabergé?

Christie's catalogued it as by Fabergé, St Petersburg, circa 1909. The rhino itself appears to be unmarked; its original fitted case is stamped with the Fabergé name beneath the Imperial warrant. Christie's records four known Fabergé rhinoceros automatons, all apparently unmarked.

How much did the Fabergé rhino cost originally?

Fabergé's London ledgers record that Lord Howe bought an automated rhinoceros for £60 on November 3, 1909. Christie's considers it probable, though not certain, that this is the same rhino.

Was the Fabergé rhino a toy?

Only later in its life. Christie's says the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna gave it to her grandson, Prince Vasili Alexandrovich, around 1914 to 1915 as a toy gift. The 1909 ledger records it simply as an automated rhinoceros.

Sources

1. An Extremely Rare and Impressive Imperial Silver Rhinoceros Automaton, by Fabergé, St Petersburg, circa 1909 (Lot 204, essay)Christie's · 2017-11
2. An Extremely Rare and Impressive Imperial Silver Rhinoceros Automaton, by Fabergé, St Petersburg, circa 1909 (Lot 204, description and provenance)Christie's · 2017-11
3. Rare Fabergé features in Russian Week auctionsFabergé · 2017-11-30
4. Silver Fabergé rhino to star in Christie's auctionPaul Fraser Collectibles · 2017-11-25
5. UK House Price Index summary: November 2017GOV.UK (HM Land Registry / ONS) · 2018-01-16
6. Fabergé eggWikipedia · 2026-10-19
7. Richard Curzon, 4th Earl HoweWikipedia · 2026-10-19

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