On the 12th February 2004, Sotherby’s in New York put a number of rare objects on display for three days, causing something of a sensation among the general public: nine Fabergé eggs to be auctioned a few days later, on behalf of the estate of the American magnate, Forbes.
However, all nine eggs were withdrawn from the auction at the last minute. The fourth richest Russian, Viktor Vekselberg, head of oil company TNK and aluminum company Sual, purchased the entire collection for 100 million dollars, in order to, “return some of the country’s most precious treasures home.”
Indeed, following their exhibition in 2006 at the Bellerive Museum in Zürich, the eggs were displayed in the Links of Time Foundation’s Moscow Museum, which was established by the billionaire to house objects of particular significance in the country’s cultural heritage. Does this now mark the end of the eggs’ extraordinary story?
The jeweler who became supplier “by appointment” to European royal families
Carl Fabergé worked as a jeweler from 1870 in St Petersburg. He grew up in a protestant family in Picardy, France, that was forced to flee France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He was destined to give the family firm a worldwide reputation. His early works have a refined, somewhat somber, style that was typical of the ostentatious Russian jewelry of the time. It was a commission by Tsar Alexander III, in 1885, which gave the name Fabergé its unique and highly sought after cachet.
The Tsar wanted to give his wife Maria Fiodorovna an Easter surprise. The inspiration was the eggs that had been popular during the 18th century, three of which have survived to this days; one is displayed in the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, the second at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the third in a private collection. The Easter gift that Fabergé made for the Empress was a smooth white egg made of gold covered with enamel, which revealed a “yolk” of gold when opened. Inside this yolk nestles a little chicken made of rubies, which in turns conceals a final surprise, a miniature replica of the imperial crown made of rubies and diamonds.
Maria Fiodorovna was so delighted with her husband’s gift that Fabergé was appointed the imperial goldsmith, and another egg was commissioned for Easter 1886, and again in the years that followed. This tradition didn’t end with the Tsar’s death and the arrival of Tsar Nicholas II in 1894, indeed Fabergé’s workshops were commissioned to produce two eggs for the family, the first for Maria Fiodorovna, who had become the dowager Empress, and the second for the Empress herself, Alexandra Fidorovna.
The Russian-Japanese war interrupted the tradition briefly in 1904-1905, but the it began again following the war and continued up to the 1917 Revolution. On 2nd April 1917, the Romanovs were arrested and the Fabergé workshops became arms factories.
Works of Art in Gold and Jewels
Each egg took almost a year to make. Once the outline of the design was approved by Farbergé himself (even the Tsar didn’t know the details at this stage), the firm’s jewelers, who included Mikhaïl Perkhine, Henrich Wigström and Erich Kollin, set to work. The main materials used were gold, silver and precious stones. The jewelers sometimes applied enamel or experimented with less traditional materials such as rock crystal or rare woods. Each egg was authenticated with the firm’s seal.
Some eggs, complete with their plinths, could be up to 20cm high, but whatever the craftsmen created, the eggs always contained a surprise. “The Coronation Egg” made in 1897 concealed a miniature of the imperial coach, complete with rock crystal windows and platinum wheels. “The Pine Cone” egg, made in 1900, contained a model elephant complete with his mahout.
The imperial eggs were so successful that Fabergé made at least 17 others (the number of eggs we now know of) but only for carefully selected clients. Clients included the wife of the Siberian gold mine magnate, Alexandre Kelch, Prince Youssoupov, Count Stroganov, the nephew of Alfred Nobel, the Rothschild family and Edward VII. It is, of course, possible that other eggs were made, but due to the lack of documentation, there is always the risk of forgeries.
Fabergé Eggs: A Scattered and Incomplete Collection
To date we are sure that Fabergé made at least 71 eggs, but only 63 of these have been found. We also know that of these, 54 were made for the Russian royal family, and although of eight of these have been lost, we do have descriptions and photographs of them.
When the revolution broke out, only one egg left the country with its original owner, Maria Fiodorovna, who returned to her native Denmark. Many were lost in the general chaos, while the others, perhaps 24 in number, were transferred to Moscow and kept in a Kremlin basement until 1930 when Stalin, who was short of cash, sold 14 of them along with other works of art.
From this point on the collection was scattered over around 15 locations, along with around a dozen in private collections. If you would like to view some Fabergé eggs, try the Vekselberg Collection (15 eggs), the Kremlin State Armory (10 eggs), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, USA (five eggs). Beyond this you can view individual eggs in England, the USA, Switzerland, Monaco and, of course, Russia.
If you would like to admire all of the Fabergé Eggs from the comfort of your own home, try to track down Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia by Will Lowes and Christel L. McCanless.
Raphaelle OBrien - A translator of English and Russian into French, Raphaelle O'Brien also writes articles on cinema as well as literary columns for various ...
