Emanuel Snowman

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

MVO (25 January 1886 – 27 February 1970) was a British jeweller, local politician and Jewish community leader. He oversaw the opening of the London branch of the

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

jewellers

Wartski Wartski is a British family firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art; particularly those by Carl Fabergé, fine jewellery and silver. Founded in North Wales in 1865, the business is located at 60 St James's Street, London, SW ...

, having married the daughter of its founder, Morris Wartski, and went on to become its chairman.

Early life

Emanuel Snowman was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London, the son of Abraham Snowman (1849–1918), a picture dealer, and his wife Rachel, both of whom were born in Poland. His elder brothers were the prominent mohel and medical doctor

Jacob Snowman Jacob Snowman (24 November 1871 – 28 February 1959) M.D., M.R.C.S. was a British doctor and mohel, notable for having reportedly circumcised King Charles (now Charles III) in December 1948, and possibly other members of the British nobi ...

and the painter

Isaac Snowman Isaac Snowman (1873 – 11 February 1947) was an Anglo-Jewish artist who made Jewish cultural themes his subject. Early life He was educated at the City of London School. In 1890 he entered the Royal Academy School, where he gained a free medal, a ...

. As a teenager he acted as secretary to

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

. In 1898, he spent a year at the agricultural college at Mikve in Palestine where he met

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...

."Obituary: Emanuel Snowman Connoisseur of fine jewels" in ''The Times'', 4 March 1970, p. 12.

Career

In 1911, Snowman managed the opening of the

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

, London, branch of his father-in-law's business, up until then only based in

, Wales. Whilst under the management of Snowman, Wartski received several

Royal warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

s, and Queen Mary was a regular customer.

Purchases from Russia

From 1925, Snowman made regular visits to Russia. He often travelled with Armand Hammer and they both established good relations with the Soviet authorities, allowing Snowman to obtain many exceptional works of art, including nine imperial Fabergé eggs, intended for resale in London, which he acquired between 1925 and 1938. One of these was the 1913

Winter egg Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures de ...

, which was the most expensive ever made, and which sold for a world record $9.6 million at Christie's in New York in 2002. Snowman's visits to the country continued until 1939. The Tsarist government before the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

had already tried to foster an interest in Russian

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

. After the Revolution, the new government faced a pressing need for hard currency and the sale of objects from the Church and the aristocracy was one way to raise funds quickly. There was some discomfort amongst Russian '' émigré'' circles in London about the purchase of items that had previously belonged to Russian aristocrats or the royal family as although property confiscated by the Soviets could be legally sold, as the Soviet Government was internationally recognised, some of the items were identifiably the personal property of living individuals or relatives of the recently deceased."Tracing Fabergé treasures after 1918" by Alexander von Solodkoff in Géza von Habsburg and Marina Lopato. (1993) ''Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller''. London: Thames & Hudson, pp. 152–159. In 1927, Snowman acquired about 80 items that had been sold in Paris by the Soviets. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' commented pointedly that the "haul" could "be comfortably stowed away in a Gladstone bag" and that these were "things which the owners would have handled and treasured as personal belongings.

Fabergé Imperial Easter eggs acquired by Emanuel Snowman

Snowman acquired nine Imperial eggs: *1895 Rosebud *1897

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

*1898 Lilies of the Valley *1900

Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

*1905

Colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

*1906

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

*1908

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

*1911 Orange Tree *1913

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

Jewish community leader

Snowman was diligent in his religious duties and was warden of the

Hampstead Synagogue Hampstead Synagogue is an Orthodox synagogue in Dennington Park Road, West Hampstead, London, England. The synagogue building, constructed 1892–1901, is Grade II listed with English Heritage. The synagogue is run under the auspices of the Unit ...

, and chairman of the West Hampstead Day School. He was an early supporter of the Habonim Jewish Socialist-Zionist cultural youth movement and provided help to refugees from Nazi Germany. ''

'' said that "When many voices were silent ... he was an articulate and successful man of action and was directly responsible for the saving of many valuable lives."

Honours

Snowman was active in local politics: he was a Conservative councillor for the Priory ward on the

Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board ...

from 1937 to 1953, moving to Town ward in 1956 until the formation of Camden council in 1964. Snowman was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and, at one time, was mayor of Hampstead. In the

1957 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1957 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

he was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE), "for public services in Hampstead". Snowman became MVO in 1962. In the 1960s, a block of council flats on Abbey Road, West Hampstead, was named Snowman House in his honour.

Personal life

Snowman married Harriet Wartski (1891–1985) in 1909, and their son

Kenneth Snowman Abraham Kenneth Snowman CBE FSA (26 July 1919 – 9 July 2002) was a British jeweller, painter and the chairman of Wartski. He was made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1994, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empir ...

(1919–2002) in turn became chairman of Wartski, as has Kenneth's son,

Nicholas Snowman Michael Nicholas Snowman OBE (18 March 1944 – 2 March 2023) was a British arts administrator and the chairman of the jewellers Wartski. In 2000, ''The Telegraph'' called him "one of the most influential figures in British classical music for ...

(born 1944). They also had 2 daughters, Flora Joyce Snowman (1911–1996) and Charlotte Snowman (1914–2013).

References

External links

Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective EncyclopediaMayfair's hidden gem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowman, Emanuel 1886 births 1970 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire British jewellers Members of the Royal Victorian Order English Jews Mayors of places in Greater London Members of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council

Emanuel Emanuel may refer to: * Emanuel (name), a given name and surname (see there for a list of people with this name) * Emanuel School, Australia, Sydney, Australia * Emanuel School, Battersea, London, England * Emanuel (band), a five-piece rock band fr ...