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[Bart]

Most would agree that the Faberge Imperial Eggs are the apex of a craft elevated to the top art form in it's genre. Beyond impressive, opulent, breathtaking, and fascinating.

- Bart

1903 Peter the Great Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

red, green, and yellow gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphire, enamel, ivory, bronze, rock crystal

11,1 x 8,3 cm diameter (4" 3/8 high x 3" 1/4) - statue: 4 cm (1"9/16)

Serving a dual role, this egg also marked the bicentennial of the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703. Executed in gold in the extravagant rococo style, the curves are set with diamonds and rubies. The bulrushes are chased green gold. The spikyheads are set with square rubies. The surprise is that when the egg is opened, a mechanism within raises a miniature model in gold of Peter the Great's monument on the Neva, resting on a base of sapphire.



   As if to bolster the Czar's self-image during his most trying times, Faberg? presented Nicholas with a series of eggs commemorating achievements of the Romanovs. In lavish Rococo style, this Peter the Great Egg celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding St. Petersburg in 1703.

   Executed in gold, the curves are set with diamonds and rubies. The bulrushes are chased in 14-karat green gold. The spikyheads are set with square rubies. The Egg design features a representation of the Winter Palace; the side miniature of Peter the Great is signed B. Byalz and has the initials of assay master Iakov Liapunov. The dates 1703 and 1903 in rose-cut diamonds appear on either side of the lid. Four miniatures by B. Baal, show Peter the Great, the wooden hut that is traditionally said to have been built by himself, Nicholas II and the 1.000-room Winter Palace as it was in 1903. Each of the miniatures is covered by rock crystal.



   White enamel ribbons inscribed with historical details encircle the Egg. The inscriptions read, "The Emperor Peter the Great, born in 1672, founded St. Petersburg in 1703" and "The first little house of the Emperor Peter the Great in 1703". The other inscriptions read, "The Emperor Nicholas II, born in 1868, ascended the Throne in 1894" and "The Winter Palace of His Imperial Majesty in 1903".



   The surprise is that when the egg is opened, a mechanism within raises into position from the lower half of the shell a miniature model in gold of Peter the Great's monument on the Neva, made by Gerogii Malychevin, resting on a base of sapphire. The clasp of the Egg is the Romanov Double Eagle. The equestrian statue of Peter the Great, created by the famous French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet, depicts the most prominent reformer of Russia as a Roman hero, and stands on Senatskaia Ploschad (Square), facing the Neva River and surrounded by the Admiralty, St Isaac's Cathedral and the buildings of the former Senate and Synod, the civil and religious governing bodies of pre-revolutionary Russia.

[Bart]

1891 Memory of Azov Egg (or Azova Egg)

Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

gold, platinum, diamond, rubies, heliotrope, aquamarine, velvet

Length 9.3 cm (3"7/8)



The egg is carved from a solid piece of heliotrope jasper, also known as bloodstone, flecked with red and blue. It is decorated in the Louis XV style with a superimposed gold pattern of rococo scrolls ornated with brilliant diamonds and chased gold flowers. The clasp consists of a ruby and two diamonds. The interior of the egg is lined with green velvet.



   This Egg commemorates the voyage by the Tsarevich Nicholas and Grand Duke George to the Far East in 1890, made at the suggestion of their parents to broaden the outlook of the future Tsar and his younger brother. The voyage was a disaster because suffering from Tuberculoses George's condition worsened and Nicholas was attacked by a would-be assassin in a Japanese town and sustained a serious head wound. The Egg was presented to the Tsarina before these events occurred, and it never was one of her favorite Eggs.



   The Memory of Azov Egg never left Russia and is one of the ten Imperial Eggs in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow.

   The egg contains an exact replica of the cruiser Memory of Azov (Pamiat Azova), executed in gold and platinum, with windows set with small diamonds, and rests on a piece of aquamarine, representing water.

   The name "Azov" appears on the stern of the ship. The plate has a golden frame with a loop enabling the model to be removed from the egg.

[Bart]

1897 Coronation Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

gold, enamel, diamonds, rock cristal, platinum

12,7 cm (5") Length of coach: 9,4 cm (3"11/16)



   This is the most popular of all the Faberge eggs. This superb gold egg enamelled translucent lime yellow on a guilloch? field of starbursts (reminiscent of the gold robe worn by the empress at her Coronation), is trellised by with bands of greenish gold laurel leaves mounted at each intersection by a gold Imperial double-headed eagle enamelled opaque black, and set with a rose diamond on its chests. This pattern was drawn from the cloth-of-gold Coronation Robe worn by the Empress.



   A large portrait diamond is set in the top of the egg within a cluster of ten brilliant diamonds; through the table of this stone, the monogram of the Empress is seen. A smaller portrait diamond is set within a cluster of rose diamonds at the end of the egg, beneath which the date is inscribed on a similar plaque. The name Wigstr?m is roughly scratched on the inner surface of the shell. The egg was delivered, together with a glass-enclosed jadeite stand for the display of the Carriage, at a cost of 5650 rubles.



   Nicholas loved the pomp and ritual of military life and Imperial ceremony, which required him only to look good and say little. On May 9, 1896, Nicholas and Alexandra were crowned in the Uspenski Cathedral in Moscow in one of the most magnificent pageants in Russian history. Attended by over seven thousand guests from around the world, including most of Europe's royalty, the celebrations lasted for two weeks. To commemorate the event, Faberge's Coronation egg (1897) was larger and more lavish than any before.

   This egg seems to be one of which Alexandra was also not too fond. It is interesting to speculate that memories of the coronation were spoiled for Alexandra by memories of the massacre on the Khodinka field, when hundreds of peasants hoping for free food and souvenirs were crushed to death in a riot.



  The egg, kept at the Winter Palace, wound its way to Moscow and Antikvariat, where it was purchased by Snowman of Wartski. In 1934 it was sold to Charles Parsons, but was bought back after the war in 1945 by Wartski. In March of 1979 it was sold to Forbes for $2,160,000.00 along with the another egg.

  After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from Sotheby's auction in the beginning of 2004 could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V. Vekselberg before the advertised bidding is unprecedented in auction practice.



   To make this egg even more magnificent, Faberg? enclosed an extraordinary detailed jeweled "surprise" fitted inside a velvet-lined compartment: a precise replica - under four inches long - of the eighteenth-century Imperial coach that carried Alexandra to her coronation in Moscow at the Uspensky Cathedral.

   Red lacquer and upholstery of the original coach was recreated using strawberry colored translucent enamel and the blues of the interior were also fauthfully reproduced in enamels. The coach is surmounted by the Imperial Crown in rose diamonds and six double-headed eagles on the roof; it is fitted with engraved rock crystal windows and platinum tires, and is decorated with a diamond-set trellis in gold and an Imperial eagle in diamonds at either door. Complete with moving wheels, opening doors, actual C-spring shocks, and a tiny folding step-stair, inside the coach originally hung a briolette-cut yellow diamond pendant (it may have been an emerald, reports vary).

   The original carriage was designed for Nicholas' great-great-great-grandmother, Catherine the Great in 1793. During the time it took to complete the replica, master craftsman George Stein made numerous clandestine visits to the imperial stables in order to perfectly match his work to the original. The model mimics every moving part of its prototype, right down to a working suspension.

   According to author Lynette Proler, "It was all done by hand and crafted by hand in such minute detail - every detail from the state carriage was included - from the little crown on the top of it in diamonds to the windows in rock crystal. And the little steps... when the Empress would alight from the carriage onto the steps, they would fall out of the carriage, and in the little miniature they do the same. It took approximately fifteen months to craft this carriage by hand working all day and well into the night, seven days a week, and it was barely finished just in time to be presented to the Empress."

   Ironically, when the Hermitage recently undertook to refurbish the original, Margaret Kelly, Director of the Forbes Magazine Collection, provided them with detailed photos of the Coronation egg from which to work!

[Bart]

1898 Lilies of the Valley Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

gold, enamel, diamonds, pearls, ruby

height: 15,1 cm (opened: 19,9 cm.) (5"5/16, 7"7/8)



   Faberge made a point of learning something of the private lives of his most important clients. He knew that pink was the favorite color of the Empress, and lilies of the valley her favorite flower. Every spring, Alexandra had the rooms of the palaces filled with beautiful floral bouquets. As well pearls were her favorite jewels so the combination in this Egg would have delighted her.



   This egg is one of only three eggs executed in the Art Nouveau style, of which the Empress was very fond. Gold egg enameled translucent rose on a guilloche (1) field covered with gold-stemmed flowers made of pearls, diamonds and rubies on a guilloche field, segmented by narrow bands of small diamonds. It is supported on four dull green gold cabriole (2) legs composed of overlapping leaves veined with rose diamonds. The egg is surmounted by a rose diamond and cabochon ruby Imperial Crown set with two bows and quartered by four lines of rose diamonds and decorated with lilies-of-the-valley in pearls and rose diamonds. The background for the flowers - rose colored enamel - is complemented by the spring green leaves, which are also enamel.



   This egg, which originally cost 6700 rubles, was also housed in Alexandra Feodorovna's Study in the winter palace, but some views of her Study at the Alexander palace clearly show this egg in the Mauve Boudoir. It is possible that on her departure from the Alexander Palace, the egg was sent to the Winter Palace to join the others, and from there sent to Moscow. This egg was acquired by Forbes in 1979 along with the Coronation Egg for $2.16 million.

   After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from Sotheby's auction in the beginning of 2004 could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V. Vekselberg before the advertised bidding is unprecedented in auction practice.



   On top of the egg, a tiny replica of the imperial crown sits. When lightly depressed, reveals the surprise of this egg. It releases a geared mechanism inside to raise from the top the fan of three tiny oval miniatures by Johannes Zehngraf. The portraits of the Czar Nicholas II in military uniform, and his first two daughters, Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana are framed by rose diamond borders and backed with gold panels engraved with the presentation date: April 5, 1898.

[Solomon]

The Peter the Great Egg is a jewelled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberg? in 1903, for the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas presented the egg to his wife, the Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Made in the Rococo style, this egg celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703.

Executed in gold, the curves are set with diamonds and rubies. The body of the egg is covered in laurel leaves and bulrushes that are chased in 14-carat green gold. These symbolize the source of the "living waters". The spikyheads are set with square rubies. The egg shell features four miniatures by B. Baal that show Peter the Great, the wooden hut that is traditionally said to have been built by himself, Nicholas II and the 1000 room Winter Palace. Each of the miniatures is covered by rock crystal. White enamel ribbons inscribed with historical details encircle the egg. The inscriptions read "The Emperor Peter the Great, born in 1672, founding St. Petersburg in 1703" and "The first little house of the Emperor Peter the Great in 1703". "The Emperor Nicholas II born in the 1868 ascended the throne in 1894" and "The Winter Palace of His Imperial Majesty in 1903."

The dates 1703 and 1903 appear on either side of the lid.


Surprise
The surprise is that when the egg is opened, a mechanism within raises a miniature gold model of Peter the Great's monument on the Neva, resting on a base of sapphire. The model was made by Gerogii Malychevin. The reason for this choice of surprise is the story of a legend from the 19th century that says enemy forces will never take St. Petersburg while the "Bronze Horseman" stands in the middle of the city.

Bart:

May I assume that those featured here are originals? If so, I would appreciate learning more about them. Also, the story of Faberg? may be of interest to our readers.

Cheers!
Solomon

[Bart]

Yes Solomon, those are photos of the Faberge originals. And since we have many ancient beautiful works of art of whom we know nothing about the craftsman, that is a great suggestion regarding this one. To me, little comes close in comparison, and nothing that comes to mind at the moment surpasses them. I shall add that shortly.

- Bart

[Bart]

Peter Carl Faberge: The Man

   The Faberge family originated in France, but the Protestant family fled after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685. Eventually, some family members settled in Russia. Peter Carl Faberge was born in 1846. His education and goldsmith apprenticeship were in Germany. After establishing himself independently in 1866, Carl continued to refine his skills. By age 24, Faberge had inherited his father's jewelry workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia. For ten years as head of the business, Carl continued to produce goods similar to other jewelry makers.

   He also volunteered his time to the Hermitage, a treasury which stored all of the precious objects of the Russian czars, including gold artifacts and ancient treasures. All of these pieces Carl helped catalog, appraise and repair. He reorganized the business with the help of his able brother Agathon and forever changed the face of jewelry and art.In 1882 Carl's younger brother Agathon, a trained jeweler full of ideas, appeared on the scene. The two made copies ancient Russian treasures and sold them.

    Eric Kollin, a Finnish craftsman, helped the Faberge brothers make a number of pieces which they decided to feature at a fair in Moscow. Czar, Alexander III, and his wife, Czarina Maria were in attendance and made a purchase at the Faberge exhibit. There, Carl Faberge was presented with a gold medal honoring him as "...having opened a new era in jewelry art."Until that time, many felt the value of jewelry was intrinsic, based upon the precious metals and stones. Faberge felt that the artistic creativity and fine craftsmanship of jewelry made it art that transcended bullion value.

   Goldsmithing became Carl Faberge's primary interest, and he hired Michael Perchin, a Russian goldsmith to assist him in his experiments with gold and enamel. Through careful examination of works of art, the two learned and attempted to replicate techniques of earlier artisans. Their efforts were so successfulthat even the czar could not distinguish between the original piece and Faberge's copy of a snuff box in his own collection. Soon after, Faberge became the Supplier to the Imperial Court.



   The House of Faberge was staffed with some of the finest goldsmiths and jewelers available. Interestingly enough, Peter Carl Faberge did not actually create any of the famous eggs that bear his name. The business was divided into several small workshops, each with its own specialty. In addition to the fabulous easter eggs, the workshop also produced table silver, jewelry, European-style trinkets, and Russian-style carvings. The two master jewlers most responsible for the Faberge eggs were Michael Evlampievich Perchin and Henrik Wigstr?m.

   Born in 1860, Perchin became the leading workmaster in the House of Faberge in 1886 and supervised production of the eggs until 1903. Those eggs he was responsbile for have his MP (MP- Michael Perchin) markings. All signed eggs made after 1903 bear Henrik Wigstrom's HW mark. Of course, not all eggs were stamped, so other goldsmiths may have supervised production of some of the eggs.

The Eggs: An Overview

A Brief History

   The most important feast of the Russian Orthodox church calendar is Easter. It is celebrated with the exchanging of eggs and three kisses. The Faberge eggs began in 1884 with an Easter egg made for the czar that became a gift for his wife, Czarina Maria. The egg reminded the empress of her homeland, and so from then on it was agreed that Faberge would make an Easter egg each year for Maria. Faberge designed Easter eggs for another eleven years until Alexander III died. Then Nicholas II, Alexander's son, continued the tradition. It was agreed that the Easter gift would always have an egg shape and would hold a surprise. These projects became top priority of the company and were planned and worked on far in advance--a year or longer. The surprise was always kept secret.



   Master jeweler Peter Karl Faberg? (1846-1920) , the grandson of a French Huguenot who settled in Estonia, was born in St. Petersburg, where his father was a jeweler.

   In 1870, after an apprenticeship in Frankfurt, Karl Faberg? takes control over the jewelry workshop of his father in St. Petersburg. With a craftsman's skill and the lucky touch of a dextrous hand he designs jewelry and objects of art combining style elements belonging to many different periods - from Gothic to art nouveau. This symbiosis of styles coupled with the high technical precision of his goldsmith work-masters advances him to the top position among the world's most renowned jewelers.

   He won a Gold Medal at the Pan-Russian exhibition in 1882. Alexander III was among those who attended the event and were intrigued by Faberg? 's objects of fantasy. He becomes then Purveyor to the Royal Household of the Russian Czar and this opens the doors for him to a clientele among the higher nobility of Europe.

   Faberg?, named goldsmith and jeweler to the Russian Court, in the mid-1880s proposed to Alexander III the creation of an elaborate Easter egg to be presented to the Czarina. Alexander was so taken by this first imperial egg that the special Easter creations became a tradition throughout his reign and that of his son and successor, Nicholas II.



   Trained as a jeweler, Peter Karl Faberg? was a successful entrepreneur who ran a complex family business, employing as many as 500 designers, gem-cutters, metalworkers, enamelers, and miniature painters. No single piece from the Faberg? workshop is known to have been by his hand. Rather, Faberg? served as the aesthetic leader of the firm, developing initial design concepts and approving important pieces, whose creation was supervised by work-masters such as Mikhail Perkhin.

   All the pieces of jewelery and "objects d?art" bear the Faberg? hallmark as well as the mark of the particular work-master who created them. After the Russian revolution in 1918, Faberg? was forced to close his workshop and leave Russia forever. Karl escaped to France. He died in 1920 in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the age of 74. His name remains that of a master who belongs to the greatest jewelers of the late 19th century and his creations are sold as antiques at top prices.

[Bart]

   Renaissance Egg

1894 Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

chalcedony , gold, enamel, diamonds, rubies , emerald, white agate

length 13,3 cm (5"1/4)



   Inspired by a jeweled casket in Dresden, Germany (in the Grunes Gewolbe Museum), this piece is richly decorated with colorful stones. The name for the egg comes from the source of its inspiration, as well as the Renaissance-style enamelled foliate motifs. The egg is made of milky chalcedony and trellised with opaque white enamel gold bands. At each trellis intersection there is a quatrefoil of diamonds with a ruby center. The egg is bisected by a red enamelled gold band. Under the bisecting band and around the red enamelled top, the Renaissance-style motifs, set with diamonds and cabochon rubies, are placed. The top has the date, 1894, set in rose diamonds. The egg, last of the eggs for Czar Alexander III, rests on a golden base with enamelled red and green flowers and palmettes against a white background. The had two chased gold lion masks, with loop handles in their mouths. The surprise that came in this egg has been lost and is unknown.



   Faberge's primary source of inspiration came from works of previous centuries. Translucent enameling was a valued technique in the nineteenth century that required several coats of applied enamel and the "firing" of the object in an oven after each coat. However, only a small number of colors were used in the nineteenth century, and so Faberge took it upon himself to experiment and soon came up with over 140 shades. The most prized of these was oyster enamel which varied in color depending on the light.

   This egg was the last to be presented to Maria by Alexander before his untimely death. Carved from a block of milky chalcedony, this egg, mounted on a gold enameled base, was closely modeled after an eighteenth century casket by Le Roy, now located in Dresden at the Gr?ne Gew?lbe Museum. In a striking and original departure from the design of the original casket, Faberg? canted the case so that it was in the shape of an egg supported on its side. This is one of the few Imperial Eggs, designed to sit sideways. Another is the 1907 Tsar Imperial Love Trophies Egg.



   Fancy and lineal pattern in Renaissance style are combined in the gold trelliswork with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. At each trellis intersection there is a quatrefoil of diamonds with a ruby center. Scallops of diamonds on the cover enclose a ruby enameled medallion ornamented with repeated foliate motifs in colorful enamels and the date, 1894, set in rose diamonds. Gold heraldic lions' heads at either end terminate slender loop handles. The opening is secured by a tiny gold and diamond latch, while inner rims are developed in opaque white enameling and gold floral patterns.

   Manufactured at a cost of 4750 rubles, the egg was sent to the Anitchkov Palace. In September of 1917, the egg was sent to the Kremlin, and in 1922 was probably transferred to SovNarKom, the Commissar's Treasury of Valuables. In 1927, it was returned to the Jeweler's Union and given the inventory number of 17552. On April 30, of 1930, it was selected for sale to the west, transferred to Antikvariat, the State Sales organ, and subsequently sold with nine other eggs to Dr. Armand Hammer. The Renaissance Egg cost Dr. Hammer 1000 rubles. It was advertised by Hammer in 1937, and subsequently sold to Henry Talbot DeVere Clifton. By November of 1949, it had fallen into the collection of Jack and Belle Linsky (of the Swingline Staple fortune).



   The Linskys attempted to give their collection to the Metropolitan Museum, which refused the gift, stating that the museum was not interested in "Edwardian decorative Trivia." The Linskys sold the egg to A La Vieille Russie, who held it until it was purchased by the Forbes Collection on May 15, 1965.

   After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from Sotheby's auction in the beginning of 2004 could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V. Vekselberg before the advertised bidding is unprecedented in auction practice.

   One of the few Imperial eggs that Faberg? dated, the last of the eggs for Czar Alexander III, rests on a golden base with enamelled palmettes, flowers and leaves in brilliant, translucent reds, greens, blues, opaque white and gold.

   The surprise that originally came with the egg was lost, it was probably a grand jewel. Made of gold, silver, enamel and polished agate, the egg has no documentation concerning the surprise. However, since the invoice mentions pearls, and there are none on the egg, it is conceivable that the surprise itself was a strand of Pearls. (? 2004 Mr. Victor Vekselberg's Foundation)



   A highly intriguing hypothesis has recently been advanced by Christopher Forbes, namely that the Resurrection Egg is in fact the surprise originally contained in the Renaissance Egg. This would account for its being shown in the same showcase at the 1902 exhibition, where surprises have been separated from their eggs. Moreover, style and coloring of both objects are virtually identical and the size of the Resurrection Egg perfectly fits the curvature of the egg. The invoice of the Renaissance Egg mentions a pearl, which is not accounted for unless it was part of the surprise. This work of art does not bear an inventory number, which speaks in favor of an Imperial presentation, a hypothesis which would explain why the Resurrection Egg is not included in the generally accepted list of Imperial eggs.

[Bart]

    1885 First Imperial (Hen) Egg

Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

gold, enamel, rubies

hight 6,4 cm



   Eggs as symbols of creation and new life have been exchanged for hundreds of years. Easter is the most joyful celebration of the Orthodox faith in Russia... After the devout church services, families gather to exchange gifts of decorated eggs, symbols of renewed life and hope. The Easter of 1885 also marks the twentieth anniversary of Czar Alexander III and Czarina Maria Fedorovna, and the Czar needs an exceptional gift for his wife, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark. So he places an order with a young jeweler, Peter Karl Faberg?, whose beautiful creations have recently caught Maria's eye.



  In fact, as is often the case, the truth is far more interesting. According to documents published in 1997, it appears quite clear that the Emperor had little to do with the original commission. Letters exist which prove that the egg was received from Faberg? by Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch, and that he sent the egg on to the Emperor with detailed instructions on how to open it on presentation. The Empress was, by all accounts delighted, but this mystery is left: did Faberg? approach the Emperor, having created the egg on speculation, as was asserted by Faberg?'s first biographer H.C. Bainbridge, or perhaps, did the Empress request that it be made?

   This is possible, as there exists in the Danish Royal collection, a very similar egg of eighteenth century manufacture, with which the Empress might have been familiar. Common thought among scholars is that the Emperor was seeking an anniversary present for his wife, and that Vladimir Alexandrovitch was the go-between for the Imperial couple and Faberg?. It is known from documentation that the egg was received by Vladimir Alexandrovitch from Faberg?, and sent by him to the Emperor for presentation to the Empress.



   The egg consists of an opaque white enamel shell, with a hidden release mechanism. When pressed, the shell opens to reveal a polished gold yolk. Upon opening the yolk, a four-color gold hen is revealed as the surprise. The egg, when manufactured, cost 4,151 rubles, 75 kopecks, and was moved to the Empress' residence in the Anitchkov Palace. This was the first egg presented to the Empress Marie by Alexander III.

   Inside the egg there is the gold yolk, and inside it a golden hen with ruby eyes. Inside the hen there was a ruby crown and inside the crown a pendant. The last two surprises, the diamonds crown and a ruby pendant, were "lost" when the egg was sold by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s.

   In September of 1917, the egg was moved along with others to the Kremlin for safekeeping by the Provisional Government. In the 1920's, the egg was purchased by one Mr. Berry in London, probably from Soviet officials, for an undisclosed sum. On March 15, 1934, the egg was sold at auction by Christie's London for the sum of 85 GBP ($430). The piece was purchased by Mr. R. Suenson-Taylor. Mr. Suenson Taylor was made the first Baron Grantchester in 1953, and in June of 1976, the Estate of Lord and Lady Grantchester made the egg available to A La Vieille Russie in New York. In January of 1978, ALVR negotiated a private sale of The First Imperial Egg to the Forbes Collection.

   After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselbergu, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from auction "Sotheby's" in the beginning of 2004 (though some tens of items from the Forbes' collection have been already sold two or three years earlier) could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V.Vekselberg before advertised bidding has become unprecedented in auction practice.

[Bart]

   1887 Blue Serpent Clock Egg
Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

   The Serpent Clock Egg costed 2,160 rubles to the Czar. The serpent winds around the pedestal of the egg and serves as tha clock's hand. The time can be read on the upper eggshell, which hs a rotating clock face.

[Bart]

   All the elements of the Romanov story come together most elegantly in the Fifteenth Anniversary egg (1911), a family album just over five-inches-tall. Exquisitely detailed paintings depict the most notable events of the reign of Nicholas II and each of the family members.

   "Not only is it a staggering tour-de-force of the jeweler's art," says Forbes, "but probably more than any other egg, it is the one most intimately associated with the whole tragedy of Nicholas and Alexandra and that incredibly beautiful family. There are these five children ? all these sort of glamorous events surrounding their lives ? and there they are looking out at us happily unknowing what was going to happen to them just a few years later."

http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/faberge_nav/main_fabfrm.html

[Bart]

   1892 Diamond Trellis Egg

Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna



   The thinly carved translucent bowenite (also called jadeite) body of the egg set at the top and bottom with a diamond from which emanate sixteen undulating trellis of silver and platinum set with rose-cut diamonds; with gold hinge and inner gold rim, marked inside. The lapidary work for the diamond trellis egg was executed in the Faberg? workshop of Karl Woerffel and not Peter Kremlev.

   According to the original Faberg? invoice dated April 7th 1892, (which is now in the Russian State Archives), the price of the Diamond Trellis Egg was 4750 roubles.

   The base, now lost, was composed of a silver group on a round pale-green stone slab representing three little silver cherubs holding the egg; the three boys were said to represent the three young sons of the Imperial couple, Grand Duke Nicholas (later Tsar Nicholas II, 1868-1918), George (1871-1899) and Michael (1878-1918). The Diamond Trellis Egg and its base with the three cherubs can be seen on an old photograph.

[Bart]

   1895 Rosebud Egg

Presented by Nicolas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna







   Alexander III died on 20 October 1894. Tsar Nicholas II came to the throne and an Easter egg had to be made urgently for the new Empress, Alexandra Fedorovna, whom he had married on 14 November, just a few weeks after the death of his father. In Germany, Alexandra Fedorovna's native country, yellow was regarded as the noblest and worthiest color for a rose (the golden rose), and Peter Carl Faberg? therefore considered this to be an appropriate surprise within this egg for her.

   It's whereabouts unknown for decades, the Imperial Rosebud Egg is the first egg to be presented by Czar Nicholas II to his wife Czarina Alexandra Feodrovna on Easter 1895, and one of the smallest of the Imperial Easter Eggs from the House of Faberg?. For the new Czarina, Faberg? trimmed the strawberry red Rosebud egg with rows of diamonds. Gold laurel swags that are pendants from rosecut diamonds and wreaths, Cupid's arrows and ribbons embellish the egg. A miniature of Czar Nicholas II surmounts the egg, and the year is set in the base beneath a diamond.

   This egg, which cost 3,250 rubles, was kept in the Study of Empress Alexandra at the Winter Palace. It is interesting to note that of all of the Eggs of the Empress Alexandra, only a few were kept with her at the Alexander Palace, where she actually lived. It appears that eggs with references to family members, or with "Russian" themes were kept with her, while more arcane subjects were relegated to the Winter Palace, which she rarely visited.

   The egg was transferred to Moscow in 1917 along with the other eggs at the Winter Palace, and by 1925 had been slated for sale through Antikvariat. The egg was sold to Emanuel Snowman of Wartski, and by 1935 was owned by Charles Parsons who exhibited it with its surprises. The egg was then sold to Henry Talbot DeVere Clifton. During this period, it is rumored that the egg was hurled by Mr. Clifton at his wife, and so for years, it was rumored destroyed. But in 1985, repaired and missing its surprises, the egg appeared with the Fine Art Society in London, and was sold to the Forbes collection.

   After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from Sotheby's auction in the beginning of 2004 could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V. Vekselberg before the advertised bidding is unprecedented in auction practice.

   The egg opens to reveal a hinged yellow rosebud. The bud in turn originally contained two tiny surprises, a miniature replica of the Imperial crown, representing Alexandra's new life as the Empress of Russia, and a ruby egg pendant hanging within it. The rosebus is another symbol of the couple's love for one another. For the homesick young girl, the egg was also a reminder of her native country of Germany, where the golden yellow rose is the most prized color.

   Like the almost identical crown and pendant of the first imperial egg, these two surprises were separated from the egg before it was sold by the Soviet government in the 1920s; their present whereabouts are unknown. An old photograph from the Faberg? archives shows the Egg with the three surprises.

[Bart]

Mauve Enamel Egg (egg lost)
 
Date 1898 - Provenance: Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

The 1897 Mauve Egg, also known as Mauve Egg with 3 miniatures, was probably made of gold and mauve enamel.

Research in the Russian State Historical Archives in Moscow shows that the surprise in the Mauve Egg was heart-shaped and there is a strong suggestion that it may be the heart-shaped frame included in the Forbes Magazine Collection, (now Vekselberg Foundation). The frame is set with the date 1897 in rose-cut diamonds and opens as a three-leaf clover with each leave holding a photograph, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna and their baby daughter Grand Duchess Olga.

There is no mention of the Mauve Egg in either the 1917 or 1922 inventories of confiscated Imperial treasure. This suggests the Egg had been removed before 1917, perhaps by Maria Fyodorovna herself.

A Faberg? "ornament" was lent by Grand Duchess Xenia, daughter of Maria Fyodorovna, in the 1935 Exhibition of "Russian Art" at Belgrave Square in London. The exhibition catalog mentions an "Easter Egg; miniature of Empress Alexandra and Grand Duchess Olga". Nicholas II was not mentioned.

   If this miniature frame is indeed the surprise from the 1897 Mauve Egg, the fact that the date is marked on the surprise and not on the Egg itself, could be an explanation why the "early Eggs" were not dated. It is possible that the surprises in those Eggs were dated.

   In 1978 the heart surprise was sold by Christie's (Geneva) to the Forbes Magazine Collection, New York.        2004 - Sold by the Forbes' family to the Vekselberg.

[Bart]

1899 Pansy Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna


   The 1899 Pansy Egg, formerly known as "Spinach Jade Egg", is made of nephrite, silver-gilt, diamonds, white, red, green and opaque violet enamel.

   This egg stands on an bunch of golden twisted leaves from which stem five flowers and five buds of pansy enameled in violet in various nuances. The top part of the egg can be opened to reveal the surprise.

   In 1930 one of the ten Eggs sold by the Antikvariat to the Hammer Galleries, New York. 1947 First Egg bought from the Hammer Galleries by Matilda Geddings Gray, oil heiress, New Orleans, Louisiana. Given to her niece, Mrs. Matilda Gray Stream of New Orleans, Louisiana as a wedding anniversary present. The Pansy Egg is one of the few significant Imperial Eggs to remain in a private collection.

   The heart surprise is made of varicolored gold, diamonds, rose-cut diamonds, pearls, strawberry enamel, white enamel and mother of pearl.

   It is a gold tripod on which is located an heart lined in diamonds and surmonted by the imperial crown with eleven scarlet medallions decorated with monograms. By pressing a button the tiny medallions are all opened, and portraits of each member of imperial family become visible.

   Reading vertically, those in the front row are: Tsarevich George Alexandrovich, younger brother of the Tsar, and Grand Duke Alexander Michailovich, husband of the Grand duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the Tsar's sister. In the second row are: Tsar Nicholas II and Princess Irina, daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Michailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia. In the third row are: Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaievna, the first daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicolaievna, their second daughter, and Grand duke Michael Alexandrovich, the youngest brother of the Tsar. In the fourth row are: The Tsarina and Prince Andrew Alexandrovich, brother of Princess Irina. And in the fifth row are the Grand Duchesses Olga and Xenia Alexandrovna, sisters of the Tsar. The heart miniature is backed with mother of pearl.