Luxury Easter eggs from the Russian imperial court
The Fabergé company was established in 1842 by Gustav Fabergé, but did not find fame with luxury eggs until the time of his son Peter Carl Fabergé, who was appointed court jeweller to the imperial court in 1885.
In the same year, Peter Carl Fabergé was tasked by Tsar Alexander III to create an Easter egg for his wife Maria Feodorovna. He took on this task with great enthusiasm and a pleasant surprise awaited the tsarina inside the egg at Easter in 1887: in the centre, was a small hen sitting on top of miniature eggs.
Maria Feodorovna was delighted with the luxury gift and since that time, members of the Russian imperial family received similar jewels every year until 1916. The last egg dates back to 1917 and the imperial family no longer received it due to circumstances relating to the Russian Revolution.
Fate of the golden eggs after the Russian Revolution
Most of the Fabergé eggs were taken out of Russia soon after the revolution and some were sold abroad on Stalin’s orders in 1927 as a result of the financial crisis, where they became the property of private collectors. It is said that a total of about 70 eggs were made, of which 52 were made to order for the imperial family. The goldsmith had the rest made for prominent customers. The location of 43 is currently known.
After World War Two, the first collection of eggs was gathered together by Malcolm S. Forbes and these were not offered up for auction by his descendants until after his death in 2004. The collection was purchased by the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who established the Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg where the most beautiful exhibits are displayed. Other eggs were sold off at various auctions for large sums of money.
Luxury material and creativity know no bounds
All except one of the Fabergé eggs are made of gold, precious stones of the very highest quality and other rare and luxurious materials such as ivory or mother of pearl. Each of them opens and holds a luxury surprise inside. Some eggs are on wheels, others can be taken apart, others hide a special mechanism allowing the figures to move or hold some interesting construction or other. They have an extremely high artistic value and are made in the very highest quality. This is why they are without a doubt some of the rarest jewels in the world and are synonymous with luxury to this very day.
