Fabergé egg

Fabergé egg, any of a series of decorative eggs containing objets d’art that were made by Peter Carl Fabergé’s studios from 1885 to 1917. The best-known—as well as the most lavish and intricate—were the 50 Imperial eggs created for the Romanov family and given as Easter gifts.

In 1885 Alexander III first commissioned an egg as a present for his wife, Maria Fyodorovna. He worked in close collaboration with Fabergé, a jeweler known for his fine craftsmanship and creativity. Their resulting creation was an extravagant variation on the Russian Orthodox tradition of exchanging decorated Easter eggs. The Hen Egg, as it became known, featured an unadorned white enamel shell, inside of which was the “yolk,” a yellow-gold container that opened to reveal a golden hen. The bird rested on a bed of suede edged with stippled gold, meant to evoke the straw of a nest. Inside the hen was yet another surprise—a miniature replica of the Russian crown, encrusted with diamonds and rubies and holding a small ruby pendant. The gift proved so popular that the eggs quickly became a tradition in the royal family. After Alexander died in 1894, his son Nicholas II continued to commission the pieces, giving one each to his mother and to his wife, Alexandra. Due to the Russo-Japanese War, however, no Imperial eggs were presented in 1904 and 1905.

The eggs generally took one year to complete and, unlike the first egg, were created in secret. The only stipulation was that each contain a surprise. The eggs became progressively more elaborate and creative, and they established Fabergé’s reputation as a “fabricator of jeweled fantasies.” However, while he was involved in the design and oversaw their creation, he did not actually make the eggs. Instead, numerous craftsman at the House of Fabergé were involved in the construction, though arguably the two most prominent “workmasters” were Mikhail Perkhin (Michael Perchin) and Henrik Wigström. The eggs generally measured 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) tall, though many included elaborate bases.

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Notable among the Imperial eggs was the Winter Egg (1913), which was the most expensive, boasting some 3,000 diamonds. Ice crystals were engraved on the shell, while inside was a floral bouquet, representing spring. The Blue Serpent Clock (1895) featured a rotating dial that wrapped around the top of the egg; the head of a serpent pointed to the hour. The Orange Tree (1911; also called Bay Tree), one of the larger pieces, had an egg that was more than 10 inches (25 cm) tall. Nephrite and various gems were used to create the leaves, flowers, and berries of the tree, while the trunk stood in a white-onyx box adorned with a golden trellis. An automaton songbird rose from the treetop when a “button” (in the form of a jeweled fruit) was pushed.

In addition to the Imperial eggs, Fabergé also crafted an estimated 12 eggs for wealthy clients. The Rothschild (1902)—an engagement gift for Edouard de Rothschild’s fiancée, Germaine Halphen—was a pink egg that featured a clock face and an automaton bird. Also from 1902 was the Duchess of Marlborough, an egg based on the Blue Serpent Clock.

In 1917 the House of Fabergé was working on two Imperial eggs—the Karelian Birch Egg (wood shell containing a jewel encrusted mechanical elephant) and the Blue Constellation Egg (glass shell resting on a base of rock crystals fashioned as clouds)—when the February Revolution occurred. Nicholas abdicated in March, and the eggs were never delivered. The House of Fabergé was soon seized by the revolutionary government, and Fabergé himself fled to Switzerland, where he died in 1920.

Of the 50 Imperial eggs, only 43 are known to have survived. Five are believed to have been destroyed, while the whereabouts of the remaining two is unknown. In 2014 the existence of the long-lost Third Imperial Egg was publicly announced. According to reports, the ridged gold egg, which contained a lady’s watch, had been bought for scrap metal at an American flea market in the 1990s. However, it was not until 2012 that the buyer—who had been told that the intrinsic value was less than the $14,000 he had paid—discovered that the object was actually an Imperial egg.

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