Bell Push
c. 1895–1915
Medium
silver gilt, enamel, bowenite, cabochon sapphire
Dimensions
{"diameter":{"height":0.035,"width":0.058}}
Classification
Miscellaneous
Department
Decorative Art and Design
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The India Early Minshall Collection
Accession Number
1966.472
Tags
About this artwork
This bell push sat on a dressing table in a wealthy household to summon a servant during the Gilded Age around 1900. Life "below stairs" wasn't as easy as movies and television have portrayed it. Servants could be summoned at all hours of the day and night, interrupting their work, and causing disruption at the whim of the wealthy owners or their guests. The House of Fabergé became the most celebrated Russian supplier of such luxury goods as servant bell pushes. As court jeweler to the Russian i...