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India Early Minshall and Her Fabergé
Collection - December 2008
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India Early Minshall as a young matron, mid-1920s(?)1
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The Cleveland Museum of Art's fabled India Early Minshall Fabergé
collection almost missed becoming part of the museum's permanent collection!
In 1958, Director William M. Milliken, declined India Early Minshall's
invitation to view her Fabergé collection as a possible gift to
the Museum.2
When Sherman E. Lee became director in 1958, he visited Mrs. Minshall to
view the collection, as did the curator of decorative arts, Henry Hawley.
After the visit an agreement was reached and the Museum accepted the Fabergé
collection. A handwritten note in the CMA Archives from Mrs. Minshall to
Sherman Lee discussing the credit line for her gift is transcribed below:
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Jan 4th [1964?]
Dear Dr. Lee:
Thank you so much for your note and I think the credit line should be
Mrs. India Early Minshall-might as well use the whole thing I suppose-
I hope you and your family had a happy holiday and I am sure you did,
and I have thrown out the last bit of holly and the last Santa has been
put away for another year.
Warmest regards
Cordially
India Minshall
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In addition to the Fabergé objects,
Mrs. Minshall collected other Russian artifacts which were not of interest
to the Cleveland Museum of Art but were accepted by the Western Reserve
Historical Society.
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Click on an image for a larger view
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India Early Minshall (1885-1965) was born in
Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Lewis Mortimer Early, a successful physician
and his wife, Lulu Bell Early. In 1906 she married Thaddeus Ellis Minshall,
who became a financially successful businessman. By 1920 the Minshalls had
moved to Cleveland, where Mr. Minshall founded the Pocahontas Oil Company.
He sold the company in 1928 and died in 1930.
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Kremlin Tower Clock3 |
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Both the Minshalls
were interested in pre-revolutionary Russian history and artifacts and amassed
a library devoted to these subjects. However, it wasn't until Mr. Minshall's
death that India began collecting Russian art and objects. Her first Fabergé
object, a rhodonite clock, was purchased in 1937 for $250.00 from Hammer
Galleries in New York.4 She continued to collect Russian art
and artifacts including the Fabergé enamel tea service.
Tea Service, 1896
The India Early Minshall Collection, 1966.500.1-11 |
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In March 1943 she purchased the famed Imperial Red Cross Egg for $4,400.00.5
Mrs. Minshall continued to collect Fabergé, buying from the Hammer
Galleries and A La Vieille Russie, both in New York City. She eventually
acquired eighteen Fabergé objects including a green jade presentation
box and several flower and animal pieces.
Sheet 158 |
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Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg6
Cranberry, Forget-me-nots, Lily of the Valley, Miniature Lily of the Valley, Wild Rose7 |
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Miniature Bidet10 |
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In 1954 she purchased from A La Vieille Russie,
what Henry Hawley, the museum's former curator of decorative arts, called
"perhaps the finest in the collection, a miniature bidet from the Wigström
workshop."9 Mrs. Minshall continued to purchase Fabergé
objects until 1961, when her collecting ceased.
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Wade Park Manor, 1933
India Early Minshall standing beside a cabinet containing Russian material, ca. 1960.11 |
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India Early Minshall lived comfortably in Wade
Park Manor, where CMA director William Milliken also lived. Photographs
of her apartment and her collections of Russian objects show the collection
in-situ. Prior to her death in 1965, a catalogue of her collection of Fabergé
objects was privately printed. The lavish publication documents the entire
collection and is part of the Ingalls Library's Rare Book Collection.
Fabergé: From the Collection of India Minshall |
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| Upon her death in 1965 her estate,
including the collection of art and artifacts, was valued at approximately
$1.5 million (approximately $9.7 million in 2008). An article from The
Cleveland Press provides us with details of Mrs. Minshall's estate:
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The Cleveland Press, March 23, 1968.
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Because of India Early Minshall's passion for exquisite Fabergé objects,
visitors to the Cleveland Museum of Art continue to be enchanted with the
beauty and artistry of the pieces she so carefully collected. |
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1Hawley, Henry, "India Early Minshall: Portrait
Sketch of a Russophile," in Fabergé in America, ed. Géza
von Habsburg (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996), p. 92.
2Winsor French, "This Jewel Collection is a Gem," The
Cleveland Press, April 4, 1967.
3Hawley. p. 103.
4Ibid. p. 92-99.
5Ibid. p. 96.
6Ibid. p. 115.
7Ibid. p. 110-111.
8Minshall, India Early, Fabergé: From the Collection
of India Minshall (Cleveland, OH, 1965).
9Ibid. p. 98.
10Ibid. p. 113.
11Ibid. p. 97.
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