Few names are as well-known or distinguished as the Nobel family. Entrepreneurs, inventors, industrialists, philanthropists and art lovers. Immanuel Nobel the Younger took the family to Russia where his sons, Robert and Ludvig, came to excel, while Alfred went his own way (he was subsequently a shareholder in the nafta company). It started with the engineering industry, and later came Naftabolaget BRA (Brothers) Nobel, which at the time was the world’s second largest oil producer. Success came not least through innovations; among other things, Ludvig Nobel designed the world’s first oil tanker, “Zoroaster”, built at the Motala shipyard in 1878. Great wealth enabled the family to become possibly the biggest customer of court jeweller Karl Fabergé, alongside the Russian Imperial family.

The generous, childless Emanuel’s numerous orders from Fabergé are legendary. Bukowskis has been entrusted to sell a number of art objects that were inherited through Emanuel’s younger brother Gustaf (Gösta). The collection includes both silver candelabras and plates by Fabergé and gold and enamel works in the form of jewellery and small Easter eggs, as well as one of the legendary small animal sculptures made from carved stone. The auction also includes the magnificent oil painting by Bruno Liljefors that hung in the family home in St Petersburg.

WHEN IS THE VIEWING AND THE SALE?

Viewing 1 – 6 June at Bukowskis, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm. Mon–Fri 11 AM –18 PM, Sat–Sun 11 AM–17 PM.
Sale 7 – 8 June at Bukowskis, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm. The Asian Sale is held on June 8.