German noble families took up the Russian emperors’ tradition of giving away objects made by the House of Fabergé on many occasions, particularly during diplomatic visits. It is likely that one such gift was this portrait Kaiser Wilhelm II, painted in watercolor on elephant ivory by Johannes Zeingraf.

Wilhelm II (1859-1941) was the last German emperor and was king of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication from the throne on 9 November 1918. He was the first cousin of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the British King George V. Family ties notwithstanding, the growing disputes between the European monarchies led to the First World War.

The encasing for the miniature was made in the workshop of Mikhail Perkhin. The medallion containing the portrait is surrounded by a gold laurel wreath covered in white enamel, and it hangs from a gold garland connecting two miniature nephrite columns on a pedestal.