21

Wartski, as a family name, probably derives from a town to the east of Warsaw, thePolish capital, called Ostrow Wartski. At the centre of medieval Europe, Polandabutted Germany and Russia and was situated below the Scandinavian countries ofNorway, Sweden and Denmark. Consequently, it was ideally placed to take advantageof the rich natural resources of the north and, later, the rapid expansion of commerceand industry following the Industrial Revolution. In the case of the Wartski family, itwas the nascent textile industry that was Ostrow Wartski’s main attraction.

Poland’s rich resources fostered a thriving Jewish community, whose history ismore than a thousand years old. Eventually Poland became the home of the largestJewish population in Europe and by the mid­sixteenth century eighty percent of theworld’s Jewish population lived there. Because of its reputation for tolerance Polandwas given the Hebrew name of “Po Lin”, the place of peace. However, this happysituation was to change radically after the destruction of the Polish state in 1795.The partition meant that many of its territories were absorbed by an increasinglyanti­Semitic Russia. New constraints were applied to the Polish Jews: they wereforbidden to own land, and the scale of settlements was limited by law. They werealso heavily taxed and forcibly conscripted, sometimes for several decades.Occasionally, Jews were victims of terrible cruelty, and some of the worst cases tookplace in Kiev and Odessa during the summer of 1881. Only some months later, themost appalling atrocities followed in Warsaw. In December 1881, 1,500 Jewishresidences, business premises and houses of prayer were destroyed and twenty­fourpeople were wounded, while the monetary loss amounted to several million roubles.The message was clear: the Russian Empire, including Poland, was no longer a placeof peace, and for the Jews it was very dangerous. Three million emigrated between1881 and 1917, and the majority went to the United States. The Wartski family wereamong the one hundred thousand or so who set their sights on the United Kingdom.

Tradition has it that the present business of Wartski was founded in Poland in1865. However, the earliest mention of its foundation in the United Kingdom is in1876, when the firm was under the direction of Morris Wartski. Morris was born onSaturday, 28 April 1855 in Tureck, near Karlisch, Poland (then part of Imperial Russia).He was the son of Shemaya Wartski and Rosa Darlski, both of whom describedthemselves as “natural­born subjects of the Russian Empire”. We know little abouthis early life and education but he was certainly intelligent and charming. At 6’2’’ inheight, broadly built with piercing blue eyes, ruddy complexion and a small beard,Morris Wartski was an extrovert, and keeping his volatile nature in check was oneof the greatest challenges of his lifetime. Thankfully, he had many attributes thatserved him well, and perhaps the most valuable was a remarkable aptitude forlanguages. He never lost his Polish accent but, undeterred, he learned a number ofdifferent tongues, including Welsh.

Morris Wartski, with his brothers Joseph and Philip, had been sent from Polandto Liverpool but why he chose to settle in North Wales is something of a mystery. Itwas all the more surprising given that the Caernarvon royal charter of 1284 expressly

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Facing page: Three Rabbis,c.1897, by Isaac Snowman.Oil on canvas. SOTHEBY’S IMAGES

CHAPTER ONEOnwards and Upwards

21

Wartski, as a family name, probably derives from a town to the east of Warsaw, thePolish capital, called Ostrow Wartski. At the centre of medieval Europe, Polandabutted Germany and Russia and was situated below the Scandinavian countries ofNorway, Sweden and Denmark. Consequently, it was ideally placed to take advantageof the rich natural resources of the north and, later, the rapid expansion of commerceand industry following the Industrial Revolution. In the case of the Wartski family, itwas the nascent textile industry that was Ostrow Wartski’s main attraction.

Poland’s rich resources fostered a thriving Jewish community, whose history ismore than a thousand years old. Eventually Poland became the home of the largestJewish population in Europe and by the mid­sixteenth century eighty percent of theworld’s Jewish population lived there. Because of its reputation for tolerance Polandwas given the Hebrew name of “Po Lin”, the place of peace. However, this happysituation was to change radically after the destruction of the Polish state in 1795.The partition meant that many of its territories were absorbed by an increasinglyanti­Semitic Russia. New constraints were applied to the Polish Jews: they wereforbidden to own land, and the scale of settlements was limited by law. They werealso heavily taxed and forcibly conscripted, sometimes for several decades.Occasionally, Jews were victims of terrible cruelty, and some of the worst cases tookplace in Kiev and Odessa during the summer of 1881. Only some months later, themost appalling atrocities followed in Warsaw. In December 1881, 1,500 Jewishresidences, business premises and houses of prayer were destroyed and twenty­fourpeople were wounded, while the monetary loss amounted to several million roubles.The message was clear: the Russian Empire, including Poland, was no longer a placeof peace, and for the Jews it was very dangerous. Three million emigrated between1881 and 1917, and the majority went to the United States. The Wartski family wereamong the one hundred thousand or so who set their sights on the United Kingdom.

Tradition has it that the present business of Wartski was founded in Poland in1865. However, the earliest mention of its foundation in the United Kingdom is in1876, when the firm was under the direction of Morris Wartski. Morris was born onSaturday, 28 April 1855 in Tureck, near Karlisch, Poland (then part of Imperial Russia).He was the son of Shemaya Wartski and Rosa Darlski, both of whom describedthemselves as “natural­born subjects of the Russian Empire”. We know little abouthis early life and education but he was certainly intelligent and charming. At 6’2’’ inheight, broadly built with piercing blue eyes, ruddy complexion and a small beard,Morris Wartski was an extrovert, and keeping his volatile nature in check was oneof the greatest challenges of his lifetime. Thankfully, he had many attributes thatserved him well, and perhaps the most valuable was a remarkable aptitude forlanguages. He never lost his Polish accent but, undeterred, he learned a number ofdifferent tongues, including Welsh.

Morris Wartski, with his brothers Joseph and Philip, had been sent from Polandto Liverpool but why he chose to settle in North Wales is something of a mystery. Itwas all the more surprising given that the Caernarvon royal charter of 1284 expressly

20

Facing page: Three Rabbis,c.1897, by Isaac Snowman.Oil on canvas. SOTHEBY’S IMAGES

CHAPTER ONEOnwards and Upwards

Russian records reveal that the decision to sell some of the collection of FabergéEaster Eggs seized from the Imperial Family in 1917 was made by the People’sCommissariat for Finance, a decade later, on 17 June 1927. It was not until 1930,however, that the Antiquariat’s expert valuation commission selected twelve eggsto be sold for the benefit of the Foreign Currency Fund. Owing to the loss of theLlandudno archives, it is impossible to say exactly which of the eggs were acquiredby Wartski or by Emanuel Snowman privately, but it is certain that a round dozen ofthese implausible objects were bought and sold by Wartski, and by the Snowmanfamily on its own account. In an article in The Evening News dated 9 October 1934a spokesman, almost certainly Snowman, stated that both the Swan Egg (see page93) and the Peacock Egg (see facing page) had been sold by Wartski, but no recordof the transaction has survived. However, there is mention of the Peacock Egg in alater stock­book entry when it was sold with other goods to a W. Magalow for £6,000on 12 September 1947. Circumstantial evidence suggests that its owner, one Hirst,had left it on consignment to Wartski. The Swan Egg was described in TheConnoisseur magazine of November 1933 as “a modern Russian Enamel” that wasat Wartski the same year.

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Facing page: The Peacock Egg by Fabergé.Given by Emperor Nicholas II to hismother, Marie Feodorovna, in 1908. Incommon with the Swan Egg, this amusing,animated object was inspired by anautomaton made by the London goldsmithJames Cox (d.1788). The hinged shell ofthe Easter Egg is carved from two rockcrystal panels that close to encase themechanical peacock. When removed fromthe tree the enamelled gold bird walksslowly, opens and closes its tail and turnsits head from left to right. This delightfulobject was also bought and sold by Wartskifor an unrecorded sum before 1934.FONDATION EDOUARD & MAURICE SANDOZ (FEMS), PULLY SWITZERLAND. PHOTOGRAPH BY RENO STERCHI

Right:Wartski’s advertisement inConnoisseur magazine, October 1934, inwhich Fabergé’s Peacock Egg is used tointroduce a treasure recently acquired inRussia.

Russian records reveal that the decision to sell some of the collection of FabergéEaster Eggs seized from the Imperial Family in 1917 was made by the People’sCommissariat for Finance, a decade later, on 17 June 1927. It was not until 1930,however, that the Antiquariat’s expert valuation commission selected twelve eggsto be sold for the benefit of the Foreign Currency Fund. Owing to the loss of theLlandudno archives, it is impossible to say exactly which of the eggs were acquiredby Wartski or by Emanuel Snowman privately, but it is certain that a round dozen ofthese implausible objects were bought and sold by Wartski, and by the Snowmanfamily on its own account. In an article in The Evening News dated 9 October 1934a spokesman, almost certainly Snowman, stated that both the Swan Egg (see page93) and the Peacock Egg (see facing page) had been sold by Wartski, but no recordof the transaction has survived. However, there is mention of the Peacock Egg in alater stock­book entry when it was sold with other goods to a W. Magalow for £6,000on 12 September 1947. Circumstantial evidence suggests that its owner, one Hirst,had left it on consignment to Wartski. The Swan Egg was described in TheConnoisseur magazine of November 1933 as “a modern Russian Enamel” that wasat Wartski the same year.

57

Facing page: The Peacock Egg by Fabergé.Given by Emperor Nicholas II to hismother, Marie Feodorovna, in 1908. Incommon with the Swan Egg, this amusing,animated object was inspired by anautomaton made by the London goldsmithJames Cox (d.1788). The hinged shell ofthe Easter Egg is carved from two rockcrystal panels that close to encase themechanical peacock. When removed fromthe tree the enamelled gold bird walksslowly, opens and closes its tail and turnsits head from left to right. This delightfulobject was also bought and sold by Wartskifor an unrecorded sum before 1934.FONDATION EDOUARD & MAURICE SANDOZ (FEMS), PULLY SWITZERLAND. PHOTOGRAPH BY RENO STERCHI

Right:Wartski’s advertisement inConnoisseur magazine, October 1934, inwhich Fabergé’s Peacock Egg is used tointroduce a treasure recently acquired inRussia.

135134

Lena Horne (1917­2010) was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer. Her family was a mixture ofAfrican­American, European­American and Native­American descent, and each belonged to what W.E.B. du Boiscalled “The Talented Tenth”, the upper stratum of the middle­class, well­educated ethnic minority. Horne visitedWartski on 2 May 1961, when she bought a pair of antique diamond earrings for £230. TIME LIFE PICTURES/DMI/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES Elisabeth Welch (1904­2003) singing Stormy Weather in The Tempest (1979). One of Lena Horne’s most

famous songs, Stormy Weather was revived by Welch in Derek Jarman’s film. These talented womenshared not only the same richly diverse ethnic background but also a taste for antique jewellery, whichthey could satisfy at Wartski. In the case of Elisabeth Welch, known as Britain’s first black star, this was aslow­burning passion; her first visit to Wartski was in her ninety­seventh year. She was introduced by herfriend, William Tallon, Steward to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother GILES PETARD/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

135134

Lena Horne (1917­2010) was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer. Her family was a mixture ofAfrican­American, European­American and Native­American descent, and each belonged to what W.E.B. du Boiscalled “The Talented Tenth”, the upper stratum of the middle­class, well­educated ethnic minority. Horne visitedWartski on 2 May 1961, when she bought a pair of antique diamond earrings for £230. TIME LIFE PICTURES/DMI/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES Elisabeth Welch (1904­2003) singing Stormy Weather in The Tempest (1979). One of Lena Horne’s most

famous songs, Stormy Weather was revived by Welch in Derek Jarman’s film. These talented womenshared not only the same richly diverse ethnic background but also a taste for antique jewellery, whichthey could satisfy at Wartski. In the case of Elisabeth Welch, known as Britain’s first black star, this was aslow­burning passion; her first visit to Wartski was in her ninety­seventh year. She was introduced by herfriend, William Tallon, Steward to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother GILES PETARD/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

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Above: A gold tiara set with emeralds and diamonds insilver, from the French Crown jewels. It was made byEvrard and Frédéric Bapst between September 1819and July 1820 for the Duchesse d’Angoulême, daughterof Louis XVI. Made up in part from stones from thecrown collection, it was a favourite of Empress Eugénie.The tiara was sold at auction by the French governmentin 1887. WARTSKI PHOTOGRAPH

Right: A model posed to show some of the best jewelsin stock at Wartski. She is wearing the impressivediamond tiara/necklace subsequently bought by LordLambton. After Lord Lambton purchased the jewel, LadyLambton wore it off its frame, as a necklace, in thephotograph by Cecil Beaton on the facing page.

Facing page: Lady Lambton (née Belinda (Bindy) Blew­Jones) (1921­2003) wearing the diamond necklace,convertible to a tiara, bought by her husband at Wartskiwith no less than six bracelets and a diamond ring. Shewas also the owner of the magnificent emerald anddiamond tiara illustrated above. Belinda Lambton is alsoshown wearing an impressive array of gem­setbracelets. She often wore the emerald tiara from theFrench Crown jewels with matching plastic earringsknown as the “sham emeralds”. Famous for hereccentricity, Belinda was the wife of the ConservativeDefence Minister, Lord Lambton (1922­2006), and themother of the television presenter, Lady LucindaLambton. The emerald tiara was kept in Wartski’s safefor many years before it was lent to the Victoria andAlbert Museum. Shortly before Lord Lambton’s death itwas sold to the Musée du Louvre in Paris. CECIL BEATON/SOTHEBY’S

218

Above: A gold tiara set with emeralds and diamonds insilver, from the French Crown jewels. It was made byEvrard and Frédéric Bapst between September 1819and July 1820 for the Duchesse d’Angoulême, daughterof Louis XVI. Made up in part from stones from thecrown collection, it was a favourite of Empress Eugénie.The tiara was sold at auction by the French governmentin 1887. WARTSKI PHOTOGRAPH

Right: A model posed to show some of the best jewelsin stock at Wartski. She is wearing the impressivediamond tiara/necklace subsequently bought by LordLambton. After Lord Lambton purchased the jewel, LadyLambton wore it off its frame, as a necklace, in thephotograph by Cecil Beaton on the facing page.

Facing page: Lady Lambton (née Belinda (Bindy) Blew­Jones) (1921­2003) wearing the diamond necklace,convertible to a tiara, bought by her husband at Wartskiwith no less than six bracelets and a diamond ring. Shewas also the owner of the magnificent emerald anddiamond tiara illustrated above. Belinda Lambton is alsoshown wearing an impressive array of gem­setbracelets. She often wore the emerald tiara from theFrench Crown jewels with matching plastic earringsknown as the “sham emeralds”. Famous for hereccentricity, Belinda was the wife of the ConservativeDefence Minister, Lord Lambton (1922­2006), and themother of the television presenter, Lady LucindaLambton. The emerald tiara was kept in Wartski’s safefor many years before it was lent to the Victoria andAlbert Museum. Shortly before Lord Lambton’s death itwas sold to the Musée du Louvre in Paris. CECIL BEATON/SOTHEBY’S