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On September 24, 1920, the most famous Russian jeweler, Carl Faberge, died. Jewelry created by him is highly valued by collectors all over the world, and these exhibits are a matter of special pride for museums.
Armory, Moscow
This museum-treasury of the Moscow Kremlin has many valuable exhibits, among which there are ten Faberge eggs. This is the largest number of Faberge eggs in Russian museums. Each Faberge egg, as you know, has its own name, and a unique appearance. The oldest Faberge egg, stored in the armory, dates back to 1891 and is called "Memory of Azov". Inside the jade egg is a model of the frigate "Memory of Azov", on which royal persons sailed to the Far East in 1890-1891. Another well-known piece of jewelry art is an egg-clock in the form of a bouquet of lilies, created for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1899. One of the most interesting eggs in the armory's collection is an egg, inside of which there is an unusual surprise - a train model. This egg is called the Trans-Siberian Railway. The museum also has such interesting jewelry works as the openwork egg "Clover", the largest of the eggs - the "Kremlin", as well as the "Alexander Palace", "Equestrian monument to Alexander III", "Yacht "Standart". Of particular interest is an egg made for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, inside of which there is a globe with the outlines of the Russian Empire, and miniatures with portraits of royal persons of the dynasty are located along the egg.
Cultural and Historical Foundation "Link of Times" by Victor Vekselbeg, Moscow
Currently, the Vekselberg Foundation owns the world's largest collection of Faberge eggs. This man did the impossible: he bought a collection of Faberge eggs in the USA and returned them to his homeland. The first exhibition "Faberge: Lost and Found" was held in the Kremlin in 2004, now the collection travels through the cities of Russia, giving millions of citizens the opportunity to touch the history and ancient jewelry art of Tsarist Russia. The oldest known Fabergé egg, the Hen, dated 1885, is also in this collection. "Renaissance", "Egg with a Rosebud", the most famous Coronation Egg of 1897, "Lilies of the Valley", "Cockerel", "Laurel Tree" - this is a far from complete list of the works of jewelry kept in the Vekselberg collection.
Virginia Museum of Art, Richmond, USA
This museum owns five Faberge eggs. The oldest of them is the "Egg with Rotating Miniatures" of 1896. This rock crystal egg has 12 miniatures with memorable places for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The Pelican Egg consists of eight unfolding miniature plates depicting charitable institutions founded by Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna. The egg "Peter the Great" has a surprise inside in the form of a model of the "Bronze Horseman". This egg was created in honor of the bicentenary of the founding of St. Petersburg. The museum has two more eggs - "Tsarevich" and "Red Cross with Portraits", made by jewelers for various anniversaries Romanov family at the beginning of the 20th century.
And all thanks to the precious eggs that were produced by this jewelry house for the Russian imperial family. Today, these works of art are a huge rarity, surrounded by secrets, and their value reaches tens of millions of dollars.
In this review, little-known facts about the most famous eggs in the world.
1. Imperial Easter traditions
Egg presented by Alexander III to his wife in 1885.
The tradition of painting Easter eggs has existed in Russia since ancient times. The imperial family followed suit. But in 1885, Tsar Alexander III, without suspecting it, somewhat transformed this tradition.
Deciding to surprise his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, he gave her a special gift - an egg with a secret. It was a precious white-enamelled egg with a golden band running across it. It opened, and inside was a golden "yolk".
In it, in turn, sat a golden hen, inside of which there was a ruby crown and pendant. The Empress was delighted with such a gift, and Alexander III presented his wife with a new precious egg every Easter.
This tradition was continued by the son of Alexander III, Nicholas II, who on Easter holidays gave precious eggs to his mother and wife.
2. The main rule is a surprise inside
Surprise inside.
The author of the Easter eggs ordered by Russian emperors was Peter Carl Faberge, a jeweler. He was given full freedom creativity, he could create precious eggs on any subject. But there was still one rule: each egg should be with a surprise.
Therefore, each Faberge egg contained a tiny miracle: a tiny diamond replica of the royal crown, a miniature ruby pendant, a mechanical swan, an elephant, a gold miniature of the palace, 11 tiny portraits on an easel, a ship model, an exact working copy of the royal carriage, and much more.
3. Peter Carl Faberge - Russian jeweler with European roots
Peter Carl Faberge is a Russian jeweler with European roots.
The famous jeweler was born in Russia in St. Petersburg on May 30, 1846. Father - Gustav Faberge was from Pärnu (Estonia) and came from a German family, his mother - Charlotte Jungstedt, was the daughter of a Danish artist. In 1841
Faberge Sr. received the title of "Jewelry Master" and in 1842 founded a jewelry company in St. Petersburg on Bolshaya Morskaya Street at No. 12.
The young man's talent was so bright and outstanding that at the age of 24 in 1870 he was able to take over his father's firm.
In 1882, the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition was held in Moscow. It was there that Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna noticed the works of Peter Carl Faberge.
So Faberge Jr. received the patronage of the royal family and the title of "jeweler of His Imperial Majesty and jeweler of the Imperial Hermitage."
Faberge products were also famous in Europe. Numerous royal and princely relatives of the Russian imperial family in Great Britain, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria received jewelry as a gift, they valued it very much and passed it on by inheritance.
The revolution of 1917 forced Faberge to close the firm. He emigrated to Switzerland, where he died in 1920.
4. The Bolsheviks, unwittingly, saved the Faberge eggs
The Bolsheviks, unwittingly, saved the Faberge eggs.
After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks, trying to replenish the treasury of the "world's first communist state," sold Russian artistic treasures.
They plundered churches, sold paintings by old masters from the Hermitage Museum and took up crowns, tiaras, necklaces and Faberge eggs that belonged to the Emperor's family.
In 1925, a catalog of valuables of the imperial court (crowns, wedding crowns, a scepter, orb, tiaras, necklaces and other valuables, including the famous Faberge eggs) was sent to all foreign representatives in the USSR.
Part of the Diamond Fund was sold to the English antiquary Norman Weiss. In 1928, seven "low-value" Faberge eggs and 45 other items were seized from the Diamond Fund.
Peacock. Faberge egg.
However, it was thanks to this that the Faberge eggs were saved from being melted down. . Thus, one of the most incredible creations of Faberge, the Peacock Egg, was preserved.
Inside the masterpiece of crystal and gold was an enamelled peacock. Moreover, this bird was mechanical - when it was removed from the golden branch, the peacock raised its tail like a real bird and could even walk.
5. Missing bag egg
Egg bag.
In total, 50 precious eggs were made for the Russian imperial family. The fate of seven of them is unknown today, most likely they are in private collections.
The fate of the travel bag egg, created in the Faberge workshop in 1889, is also shrouded in mystery. The last time this egg was allegedly seen in one of the London shops in 1949.
According to rumors, it was sold to an unknown person for $1250. Today, the cost of Faberge eggs reaches $ 30 million.
6. One egg was purchased as scrap metal
One egg was purchased as scrap metal.
One of the lost imperial Easter eggs was found in a completely amazing way. An American bought a gold egg studded with precious stones for $14,000 to scrap and wanted to resell it for a better price.
But when there were no buyers, he decided to look for an outlandish souvenir on the Internet and was surprised to find that it was the work of Faberge.
After examination, it was confirmed that this is one of the long-lost imperial Easter eggs. Instead of a $500 profit, the dealer made about $33 million by selling the egg to a private collector.
7. Queen Elizabeth II owns three Faberge Imperial Eggs
Queen Elizabeth II owns three Faberge Imperial Eggs.
In the British collection royal family There are three Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs: "Colonnade", "Basket of Flowers" and "Mosaic".
Particular attention is drawn to the "Flower Basket", the flowers in which look fresh and amazingly realistic.
The British Faberge collection is one of the largest in the world. In addition to the legendary eggs, it contains several hundred masterpieces of jewelry: caskets, frames, animal figurines and personal adornments of members of the Imperial Houses of Russia, Great Britain and Denmark.
Despite the size of the British collection, this is only a small part of the 200,000 pieces of jewelry produced by the Faberge jewelry house.
8. Eggs of the Kelch family
Eggs of the Kelch family.
When the Kelchs divorced, the entrepreneur's ex-wife took her Faberge collection with her to Paris. Six eggs ended up in the United States.
Initially, the eggs were mistaken for items from the imperial collection, and only in 1979 it was established that all seven eggs belonged to the Kelch collection.
9. Return of Faberge
The return of Faberge.
After the revolution, the Faberge brand was resold several times. Unfortunately, the big name was used by a toilet cleaner, shampoo and cologne company.
The last company to acquire the brand, Pallinghurst Resources, decided in 2007 to restore it to its former glory by relaunching the jewelry business.
Two years later, through the efforts of Peter Faberge's granddaughters Sarah and Tatiana, the world saw new Faberge jewelry for the first time since 1917.
These items are clearly far from those that were made at the beginning of the 20th century, but, nevertheless, today you can buy Faberge jewelry for $ 8,000 - $ 600,000.
O.BULANOVA
Faberge Easter eggs are one of the most valuable and famous pieces of jewelry art in the world. The creator of this luxury is a Russian-born German jeweler Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920), the head of a family firm and a dynasty of jewelers.
Faberge traveled around Europe and initially studied in Dresden, and then began to master the jewelry business with the Frankfurt master Josef Friedmann. After that he returned to Russia. At the age of 24 in 1870 he took over his father's firm.
In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, the products of his company attracted the attention of Emperor Alexander III. Faberge received the patronage of the royal family and the title of "jeweler of His Imperial Majesty and jeweler of the Imperial Hermitage".
His most famous creations - a series of Easter eggs - were created between 1885 and 1917 for the Russian imperial family and private buyers. In total, 71 pieces are known to have been created, of which 54 are imperial.
The very first egg was ordered by Tsar Alexander III to Carl Faberge and the jewelers of his firm in 1885 as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Feodorovna.
so-called. The “chicken” egg was white on the outside - smooth and covered with enamel, measuring 6.5 by 3.5 cm. A golden stripe passed in the middle of it. The egg opened along this strip.
Inside was a golden yolk, and in it was found the same golden hen. Inside the hen, in turn, was hidden a small ruby crown with a ruby pendant. This was done, as you can see, according to the tradition of folding nesting dolls.
By the way, the very idea of such a piece of jewelry was not original, but the level of execution exceeded all expectations. The first Faberge Easter egg was supposed to be a free interpretation of an egg made at the beginning of the 18th century.
In all the mentioned instances of eggs, a chicken is hidden, opening which, you can find a crown, and in it - a ring. It is believed that the emperor wanted to please his wife with a surprise that would remind her of a well-known product from the Danish royal treasury.
The empress was so fascinated by the gift that Faberge, who turned into a court jeweler, received an order to make an egg every year; it had to be unique and contain some kind of surprise, that was the only condition. Faberge's design had to be kept secret.
The next emperor, Nicholas II, continued this tradition, each spring in turn giving two eggs - one to Maria Feodorovna, his widowed mother, and the second to Alexandra Feodorovna, the new empress.
By the way, Alexandra Feodorovna was once presented with a very modest egg, but which, nevertheless, she really liked. It happened in 1916. This gift is made of ordinary steel and not a single precious stone was used in its decoration. The egg stood on four racks in the form of shells.
Some experts associated such a modest decor of the gift with the difficulties of wartime - the First World War was on. But, most likely, this egg turned out to be emphatically modest, because Faberge was well aware of the lifestyle of his august customers, unpretentious even in peacetime, and completely ascetic in difficult years.
In the “Memory of Azov” egg, made of green heliotrope adorned with gold and diamonds, was a small golden frigate. In the souvenir of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, made of transparent rock crystal, twelve small miniatures with landscapes rotated around an axis.
The most famous egg in the world is the Coronation Egg. It is made in the form of an imperial carriage. Empress Alexandra liked the pink lily of the valley egg more. Portraits of Nicholas II and his daughters were hidden in it.
The largest product is made like a music box and is called “Kremlin”.
Each egg took almost a year to make. As soon as the sketch was approved, a whole team of the firm's jewelers took over the work, the names of some of which have been preserved (so it should not be said that the author of all of them is Faberge).
The contribution of master Mikhail Perkhin is especially great. Also mentioned are August and Albert Holstrom, Henrik Wigstrom, Eric Colin, Alma Peel, and others.
A series of imperial eggs enjoyed such fame that soon all the tsar's entourage wanted to have such eggs at home, and Faberge's fame reached other countries.
However, Faberge did not mass-produce his souvenirs. His firm produced only a few pieces for private customers.
Among them stands apart a series of seven eggs presented by the gold miner Alexander Kelkh to his wife. In addition, there are 8 more Faberge eggs made to order for Felix Yusupov, nephew of Alfred Nobel, the Rothschilds, the Duchess of Marlborough and unidentified persons. They are not as luxurious as the imperial ones, and are not original, often repeating the type invented for royal gifts.
It is possible that some other items were made for private individuals, but they were never documented (unlike royal eggs), which leaves some freedom for skilled forgers.
An example of an unexpected discovery is the “Rothschild egg” put up for sale in the fall of 2007, which was ordered by the representatives of the clan in the Faberge firm and was kept among the family property, not advertised, for a whole century.
The “Rothschild Egg” is made in the form of a clock, inside there is a mechanical rooster encrusted with precious stones. Every hour the bird sings and flaps its wings.
Of the imperial eggs, only one - "Georgievsky" - was able to leave Bolshevik Russia, along with its rightful owner, Empress Maria Fedorovna, in her luggage. It happened in 1918, when the empress left through the Crimea to her homeland, to Denmark.
The rest remained in Petrograd. There they were kept packed until about 1930, when, as part of the general sale of the cultural heritage of Soviet Russia in search of funds on the orders of Stalin, 14 of them were sold, and the Renaissance egg and the egg with miniatures depicting palaces and yachts were valued respectively at 400 and 500 rubles.
The ruble then, of course, was worth much more than now, but still the amount was ridiculous. For comparison: the cost of one Faberge egg at the prices of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. was 3000-8000 rubles.
With such a sale, the Bolshevik authorities killed two birds with one stone - and the necessary funds appeared, and got rid of the legacy of the "cursed past, the legacy of reactionary art."
The sale was handled by an institution called Antiques Office. Most of them were purchased by Armand Hammer and Emmanuel Snowman Wartsky, the English dealers of Faberge.
As for the series of seven eggs for A. Kelkh's wife, Mikhail Perkhin, a Faberge jeweler, worked on their creation. Perhaps there would have been not seven, but more, but Kelch after 1905 stopped ordering gifts: the spouses officially began to live separately, and their financial situation deteriorated markedly due to the collapse in the Russian-Japanese war.
After the collection kept in the Kremlin, the New York tycoon Forbes managed to compile the largest collection. It included 11 imperial eggs, several scattered "surprises" of unknown or lost eggs, and four private eggs.
In February 2004, the collection was supposed to be put up for auction by Forbes' heirs, where it would probably go piece by piece, but a few days before the start of the auction, the collection was completely outbid by the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
Faberge eggs were made from gold, silver, precious stones and other valuable materials. Enamels and fine jewelry work were used. Sometimes craftsmen experimented with not very traditional materials - rock crystal, precious woods. The proof of authenticity is the brand of Faberge.
It should be noted that sometimes the eggs are much larger than they seem from the illustrations: the height of some (with a stand) could reach 20 cm. Traditionally, some kind of surprise should have been contained inside each.
Often these were miniatures with portraits of the person to whom the egg was intended and members of his family. Egg clocks with clockwork parts (roosters and cuckoos) were also made.
Faberge eggs have always been of great interest to those wishing to make a fake jeweler. Because if successful, crazy profits would be guaranteed.
However, sometimes real eggs of a well-known company were passed off as other products. One example: “Kelch Hen” was sold to Forbes under the guise of one of the imperial eggs, which naturally increased its price. The reception was as follows: the miniature with the image of Varvara was replaced with the image of Tsarevich Alexei, in addition, the initials laid out from precious stones were also changed.
Only later research allowed to restore the true identity. After the acquisition of the Forbes collection by Vekselberg, several more dubious things were revealed in it, in particular, the green “Egg with Hooves” made of bowenite on golden legs-hooves no longer appears on the official website of the collection, with a miniature surprise portrait of Alexandra Feodorovna, which, as was believed earlier, it was presented by the Empress to one of her close associates. There is also no more mention of the "Candy Egg".
There are quite a few fake Faberge eggs known, and some of them, made by unknown talented craftsmen, are true works of art in themselves.
It is curious that due to the large number of fakes in the second half of the 90s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) held an exhibition of fake Faberge miniatures. The exhibition was a crazy success because the products on display were amazing.
Faberge Easter eggs are delight and luxury, an object of desire and a measure of wealth, an icon of jewelry art.
Carl Faberge - artist and entrepreneur, Supplier of the Highest Court, Court Jeweler of the Emperor of All Russia, the King of Sweden and Norway, the King of Great Britain, the King of Siam, was awarded the Russian Orders of Stanislav and St. Anna, the Bulgarian Commander's Order and the French Order of the Legion of Honor for the creation of highly artistic works of art, gold medals at the All-Russian and World Exhibitions, was able to create the largest jewelry company in Russia, whose activities determined the development of the jewelry industry in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, a time when St. Petersburg was considered one of the jewelry capitals of the world.
The year of birth of the first Faberge Easter egg is 1885. It was ordered to the jeweler by Alexander III as an Easter gift to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna. Moreover, when placing an order, the emperor did not say anything about how the testicle should look, but what happened delighted both the royal couple and their entire court, and then all of Europe. From then on, the imperial order for Fabergé Easter eggs became a regular occurrence, a tradition that lasted until the 1917 revolution.
Masters worked on their creation - Mikhail Perkhin, Heinrich Wigstrem, Vasily Zuev, August Holstrem, who all together performed 54 Easter eggs, never repeating themselves.
Today it is known for certain that in the period from 1885 to 1917, Faberge created 54 eggs for the imperial family. Ten of them were made during the life of Alexander III as a gift to Maria Feodorovna, the remaining 44, already by order of Nicholas II, for the Dowager Empress and his wife, the last Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. None of these creations repeated each other, and what surprise would be hidden in the new testicle was kept in the strictest confidence. Answering the question of crowned clients what the new Easter gift would be, Faberge usually limited himself to a laconic phrase that sounded something like this: "You will be satisfied."
In addition to those made for the Romanovs, which became the property of the royal family, Faberge eggs came to Nobel, the American Duchess of Marlborough, and the aristocrat Yusupov. Irkutsk merchant, gold miner Varvara Bazanova owned seven eggs from Faberge.
2. No. 1. Hen. 1885
On May 1, 1885, on the day of Easter, Tsar Alexander III handed his beloved Tsarina Maria Feodorovna a completely uninteresting, white enameled egg. It was approximately 7 cm and looked like a large duck egg. It was only when the empress opened the tsar's gift that it revealed its true nature: like in an elaborate nesting doll, it contained a yolk made of gold; inside the yolk was a golden hen sitting on a nest of golden straw; diamonds, inside of which lay a tiny ruby pendant.
Alexander really wanted to distract his wife from terrorist threats, distract her from worrying about her position. He wanted to plunge her into memories of a happy childhood in Denmark, when Maria was still called Dagmar and when everything was still cloudless and carefree. As a child, Princess Dagmar was shown a wonderful egg from the royal collection dating back to the early 18th century. It was of ivory, not the enamel Faberge had used, and the last item to be discovered was a ring, not a pendant, but in any case the pieces were very similar.
6 weeks after the gift, the royal court issued the following announcement: “His Imperial Majesty has given his highest resolution St. Petersburg jeweler, merchant of the 2nd guild Carl Faberge, with a shop on Bolshaya Morskaya, 18, to bear the title of supplier of the imperial court with the right to use the state emblem on the sign of the shop. The crown and pendant have not been preserved. Sold by the Kremlin in the 1920s.
3. No. 2. Hen with a sapphire pendant 1886. The image has not been preserved
Unfortunately, there is no image, as well as the egg itself. The egg was supposedly transferred to the warehouse of the Kremlin Armory for storage in 1917.
A golden hen studded with rose-cut diamonds, holding a sapphire egg in its beak and sitting in a basket made of gold and diamonds. There is no mention of how the gift was valued, except that in 1887 the Tsar ordered a third egg. Then orders became regular. A tradition has arisen.
Every year the jeweler gained more and more freedom in fulfilling the annual order. Only three rules were established by the king: a gift must have oval shape, the design should not be repeated, each egg should contain a surprise for the empress. Other than that, even the king himself could not have known more. Faberge answered all questions kindly: "Your Majesty will be pleased." The inquisitive princess once received a caustic answer: "This year the egg will be square."
Pictured is the pendant. Gold, jade, diamonds. House of C. Faberge, workmaster M. Perkhin Russia, St. Petersburg, before 1898
4. №3 Blue egg-clock with a snake.
It was made in 1895 and became the first of the imperial Faberge eggs presented by Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Magnificent creation of Faberge in the technique of quatre couleurs in gold. Enamels of reference quality in several colors: transparent royal blue, opaque pearl white and the famous "oyster" shade. Guilloche, diamonds. h-18.3 cm. The design of the egg goes back to the best traditions of Sèvres. A snake of gold, “implanted with diamonds”, wraps around the body. She is motionless, her head pointing to a white thin panel with Roman numerals. Hidden under the panel is a complex rotating watch mechanism. Maestro Faberge was incredibly proud of the fact that only precious stones and metals mined in Siberia and the Urals were used for this egg. The object was sold through "Antiques", as usual, without drawing up a contract of sale in 1927. For many years, the WARTSKI gallery has been looking for a buyer. And found. Tycoon Stavros Niarkos, owner of an entire fleet and shipyards, purchased the egg in 1972. Finally, in 1974, this Faberge object found a safe haven. The cunning Greek presented an egg to Prince Rainier III of Monaco on the occasion of the silver jubilee of Grimaldi's accession to the throne. Immediately, the clock-egg became an object of admiration for Rainier III's wife, Princess Grace, who took it with her on official visits. In the palace, the clock was invariably kept in her private quarters. The egg-clock with a snake got a second name: "Princess Grace's Clock". After the tragic death of his wife in 1982, Prince Rainier ordered her chambers to be sealed. So that everything that the Princess cherished remained intact. In April 2005, bon vivant Prince Albert II succeeded to the throne. The object has been exhibited since 2008.
5. No. 4 Egg "Caucasian", 1893.
Technique - transparent enamel on a guilloché background, watercolor painting on bone, chasing, casting.
Matilda Geddings Gray Collection, New Orleans(N. Orleans Museum of Art)
Origin: Presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1893.
Hammer galleries, NY, purchased from the Soviet government around 1927.
In October 1890, the younger brother of Nikolai, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, began to have an alarming cough, later it became clear that George had tuberculosis. He spent the rest of his short life in an imperial hunting lodge in the Caucasus, where the climate was thought to be healthier than the disastrous winters and precarious summers of central Russia. As a child, George was a fair joker. After his death in 1899 at the age of only 28, Nicholas, by then Tsar, occasionally chuckled as he recalled some of his particularly successful adventures. The forced exile of Georgy thousands of miles away from the Faberge family was expressed in The Caucasian Egg. Attached to the top is a portrait of the Grand Duke, which must be viewed through a flat diamond, and along the edges of the portrait are four open panels with miniature views of the house where George spent the last years of his life. The year 1893 is indicated above the panels with diamonds. The egg itself is made of four-color gold, silver and platinum and covered with ruby red enamel. The contrast between the vulgar luxury and the simple life depicted in the miniatures is striking. Perhaps this is said too strongly, but the collection of miniatures says more about loneliness than a portrait could say.
6. No. 5 Renaissance Egg, 1894
Master - Mikhail Perkhin
Height - 14 cm
Materials - white agate, gold, transparent green, red and blue enamel. Opaque black and white enamel, diamonds, rubies. Carving, chasing.
Forbes Collection, New York.
Origin: A gift to Empress Maria Feodorovna from Emperor Alexander III for Easter 1894.
Acquired by Armand Hammer circa 1927. Mr and Mrs Henry Talbot de Vere, Clifton, England. Mr and Mrs Jack Lynskey, New York.
The Renaissance egg is already the tenth traditional Easter egg presented to Maria Feodorovna by her husband. She received a gift in Gatchina. The egg was carved from thin transparent agate, a type of quartz. Almost as fragile as a real egg, it was decorated like a cake with diamonds, rubies and colored enamel. This is one of the few Faberge eggs that seemed to be elongated horizontally and had an unusual convex shape. Resembling a jeweled jewelry box, it was made in the form of an eighteenth-century casket that Faberge had seen in Dresden as a schoolboy. However, the contents of the egg had disappeared long ago, and without a surprise, the product itself was not very interesting. During the celebration of Easter, Maria Feodorovna's thoughts were in Germany, where the happy Nikolai finally received Alix's consent to the marriage. Alix resisted the conversion to the Orthodox faith for a very long time. It wasn't just a whim. Alix expressed firm confidence in her Protestant faith and left little room for further persuasion. In early April 1894, Nikolai officially proposed Alix's hand and heart, but was met with the same intransigence. Two hours of conversation led to nothing. All Alix could answer to Nikolai's pleas was a quiet "No, I can't," as tears rolled down her cheeks. However, Nicholas was resolute and he found allies among other royal persons. In general, the fortress fell and Maria Fedorovna, receiving another gift for Easter, was already thinking about a speedy wedding.
7. No. 6. Rosebud Egg, 1895
Master - Mikhail Perkhin
Materials - colored gold, transparent red and opaque white enamel. Diamonds, velvet.
Bud made of gold, opaque yellow and green enamel.
Height - 6.8cm
Origin - Forbes magazine collection, Viktor Vekselberg.
Serious things have happened this year. On October 20, 1894, Alexander III died, he was only 49 years old. The next morning there was a short service at which Alix converted to Orthodoxy. Princess Alix of Hesse, a former Lutheran, was now "of the true faith Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna". A week after the funeral of her father-in-law, whom she barely knew, Alexandra Feodorovna tried on a dress worn by generations of Russian Grand Duchesses on their wedding day. A three-meter train of silver fabric was trimmed with ermine fur. They say that Maria Feodorovna commented on this: “Yes, I know how hard it is. But I am afraid that this is only the smallest of the burdens that the Russian Empress will have to bear. And Alexandra pronounced a cruel sentence on her wedding day: “The wedding seemed to be just a continuation of long funeral ceremonies”
"Rosebud" is the first egg presented to Alexandra Feodorovna. All. Now Alix is the legal wife of Nikolai and, according to tradition, will receive a gift for Easter. That is, now we get two imperial eggs a year. Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. Nikolai will give a gift to both his mother and wife. Alexandra Fedorovna received the first egg, Maria Fedorovna - 11, probably, the next one in the show will be "Twelve Monograms".
Faberge began to solve the serious problem of how to please Alexandra. The Rosebud egg was relatively small. One might consider the red color of the enamel to be too saturated, since it could resemble those bright spots that appeared on the face of the queen in public, and the choice of yellow enamel for coloring the rosebud inside the egg also seems unfortunate. Although in Germany this would be considered the noblest color for a rose, Alexandra may have been aware of the traditional use of yellow roses as a gift to signal the end of a relationship. Even so, it hardly pissed her off. She was pregnant and enjoyed her married life. In any case, she must have been fascinated by the two surprises that appeared when the petals of the bud unfolded: they were the imperial crown and a ruby pendant similar to the one in the hen in the first egg given to Mary. The parallel was, of course, intentional: Faberge was looking forward to learning how his relationship with the new queen would develop, whether they would be as happy and as profitable as with her predecessor.
By the way, the egg has been restored. It was damaged during a family quarrel.
PS The crown and pendant that were inside the rose are now missing.
8. No. 7 Egg with a model of the cruiser "Memory of Azov", 1891
Materials - gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, heliotrope, aquamarine and velvet.
Height - 9.3 cm
Location- State museums Kremlin.
Origin - a gift to Empress Maria Feodorovna from Emperor Alexander III for Easter 1891.
In October 1890, Tsarevich Nicholas boarded the Russian naval vessel Pamyat Azov for a nine-month voyage around South Asia. His parents had many reasons to send him on this trip. Nikolai was 22 years old at that moment, he needed to broaden his horizons. This voyage could also help him forget about the beginning infatuation with Matilda Kshesinskaya, a seventeen-year-old ballerina of the imperial ballet. On this voyage, he was accompanied by George, he needed to treat his cough. And finally, this trip had a diplomatic aspect. Nicholas was supposed to represent Russia, meeting with foreign dignitaries at every stop.
The egg "memory of Azov" was presented to Maria by Alexander at a time when both of their sons were away from home. The egg contains a surprise: a replica of the gold and platinum cruiser in which the two young men traveled. The diamonds depicted portholes, the equipment was accurately copied from the original, the anchor chain and weapons moved. The model rested on a plate made of aquamarine representing water. The egg itself, just under 10 cm high, was carved from a single piece of heliotrope, veined with red and blue, and adorned with rococo gold swirls. Maria seemed to really like this egg, arousing strong emotions in her.
Whatever their Majesties' purposes were for their sons' journey, it is doubtful that they were achieved. Nicholas expanded his horizons a little; in Egypt, his attention was occupied by belly dancers, and not by local attractions. George left the ship due to the fact that his cough intensified, in addition, he developed a fever. And in Japan, a dangerous incident occurred with Nikolai. On the street, the Tsarevich was attacked by a policeman armed with a sword with the intention of hacking him to death. The prince received a rather serious wound, the scar from which remained for life, fast reaction cousin Nicholas saved his life. Further diplomatic curtsies were difficult for Nicholas to comply with. And, finally, when Nikolai returned to St. Petersburg, he again renewed his connection with Kshesinskaya.
Traveled on a cruiser for 9.5 months. Faberge also traveled with the princes. In Siam (Thailand) there was a stop, Faberge received an order from the Siamese king, Faberge made a jade Buddha. They returned from a trip by a “dry” way. In Vladivostok, the 1st railway was laid.
9. No. 8 Egg with Danish Yards 1890
Master - Mikhail Perkhin
Materials - green and rose gold, mauve opal guilloché enamel, star sapphires, emerald, rose-cut diamonds.
Red velvet pocket and lining.
Screen - green and colored gold, watercolor on mother-of-pearl.
Height - 10.1 cm
Matilda Geddings Gray Collection, New Orleans.
Origin - presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1890.
Hammer Galleries, New York. Acquired from the Soviet government around 1927.
"Danish Palaces". The increase in the freedom of Faberge's creativity occurred gradually, but by 1890 it was already complete. This year's egg was so complex that it took at least 12 months to create it. This is a beautiful, brilliantly crafted piece. It is made of colored gold, covered with a perfectly smooth enamel, against the background of milky-pink transparency of which rose-cut diamonds and emeralds stand out brightly, which form a grid on its surface. The surprise hidden in the egg shows how much Faberge began to understand his true client, Maria Feodorovna. The egg opens and inside it is a golden screen with ten mother-of-pearl panels. Each panel features an elegant watercolor by court miniaturist Konstantin Krizhytsky. Five images of Danish royal residences, the next two - views of the palace in Peterhof, one panel depicts the Gatchina Palace and, finally, a series of images ended with images of two imperial yachts "Polar Star" and "Princess". Like the Hen egg made five years earlier, it reminded Maria of her childhood, but this time Faberge created a frankly personalized gift. It was a unique image of the recipient of the gift - it reminded her of her Danish origin and the luxury that she now enjoyed in Russia.
10. No. 9. Egg in memory of the coronation, St. Petersburg, 1897
Masters - Mikhail Perkhin and Heinrich Wigstrom, carriage - Georg Stein.
Egg height - 12.6 cm, carriage height - 9.3 cm
Materials - colored gold, transparent yellow-green and opaque black enamel. Diamonds, velvet. The carriage model is gold, platinum, red enamel, diamonds, rubies, crystal.
Origin - presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1897.
Acquired by Emanuel Snowman for Huartsky, London, circa 1927.
Nikolai gave Alexandra an egg, considered by many to be "Faberge's most significant work on a public occasion." It was dedicated to their joint coronation as emperor and empress in 1896 and was an example of perfection in terms of design concept, color, metal work and surprise. Made of red gold, the egg is covered with a magnificent iridescent yellow enamel, surrounded by a golden lattice, at the top is a Romanov eagle made of black enamel. The color combination was supposed to evoke the golden robes that the queen wore during the ceremony. The egg contained a replica of Alexandra's coronation carriage. Its production alone took fifteen months of work by a twenty-three-year-old young jeweler Georgy Stein, whose eyes were able to cope with the creation of incredibly small details of a golden carriage. It was completely hinged, decorated with red enamel and diamonds, its windows were made of rock crystal, and its wheels were made of platinum. Even today, this exquisite work of art is surprising - the carriage gives the impression of springy and easy to manage, which seems simply impossible.
So, on the one hand, the egg is a clear demonstration of Faberge's genius. On the other hand, from the point of view of the recipient of the egg, one could hardly have done anything less pleasant. At Easter 1897, the imperial couple would have preferred to forget the event, which was to become one of the most significant events of the reign of Nicholas. As for Alexandra, the exact copy of her carriage could only be an unpleasant memory of her trip to Moscow: the stormy greetings of her mother-in-law, the somewhat calmer reception given to her husband, and the gloomy silence that greeted her, who came from outside. Even then, she felt the unpopularity that would characterize her entire reign.
However, the darkest shadow was cast over the spectacle of the coronation by the tragedy that took place a few days later on the Khodynka field on the outskirts of Moscow. It was the traditional place where Muscovites welcomed their new king. But, in the thirteen years that have passed since the coronation of Alexander III, the city has expanded incredibly and the authorities were completely unprepared for the arrival of half a million people. Crush and panic. The number of those killed can only be estimated: Nikolai's officials estimated the death toll at 500 people, but the true figure is closer to 5,000. Tragedy. But what most subjects, including members of the imperial family, could not forgive Nicholas was his reaction to the tragedy. Under the influence of his imperious uncles, the king did not even offer to cancel the ball with the French ambassador, which took place that evening. The yard danced while the wounded on Khodynka were dying. The emperor's subsequent visits to the hospital and the donations he made to the families of his victims could not remedy the situation. All this left an unpleasant imprint on the rest of the reign of Nicholas.
But, Alexandra still had a particularly difficult memory of the coronation. According to her maid, Marfa Mukhanova, the stress of those days caused Alexandra to miscarry. This in itself was a rather sad event, but the most unpleasant thing was that Alexandra's doctor was convinced that the unborn child was a boy, a prince, whom she and Nikolai so desperately desired. Surely every glance at the egg reminded the Empress of her loss.
An interesting moment about the feelings of Faberge himself. He was at the coronation. Later, he told only one story about this event. Faberge followed the ceremony on her four-wheeled carriage, whose best years were behind. During the trip, the bottom fell out, but the rider continued to move on foot, moving his feet inside the convertible. A stunning image: it is clear that the jeweler was thinking of a vehicle so very different from Alexandra's carriage when creating the egg.
11. No. 10. Egg with lilies of the valley, Petersburg, 1898
Master - Mikhail Perkhin
Materials - gold, transparent gold and pink enamel, diamonds, rubies, pearls, crystal, ivory.
Height - 20 cm
Origin - presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1898.
Acquired by Emanuel Snowman for Wartsky. London, circa 1927. Collection of Forbes magazine, Viktor Veselberg.
Of all Fabergé's creations, this egg is one of the most beautiful. There is something in the Lily of the Valley egg that immediately attracts attention. Perhaps this is how, when illuminated at a certain angle, the golden tone of the substrate appears under the pink enamel. Perhaps this is the tenderness with which the pearls hang down the sides of the egg, depicting stylized lilies of the valley. They were one of Alexandra's favorite colors, and she couldn't help but appreciate the Art Nouveau style in which this egg was made - a new starting point for a jeweler who drew more inspiration from eighteenth-century French art. Alexandra herself continued to use the Art Nouveau theme when renovating the Alexander Palace.
Most of all Alexandra liked the egg surprise. When a pearl button was pressed on the side of the egg, three miniatures appeared and fanned out at the top: Nikolai in military uniform was depicted on the central one, and portraits of Grand Duchess Olga and Tatiana, Alexandra's two eldest children, were located on the sides. These were without a doubt the three people whom Alexandra loved more than anyone in the world. She was born to be a mother, and she loved her girls to the point of madness - both were then less than 3 years old - so much that this further increased the displeasure of St. Petersburg society. Even her grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was a caring mother in her own right, thought she had taken too long to breastfeed. In the absence of a son, Faberge could not continue to create eggs that would glorify daughters that were useless for the continuation of the dynasty, however, their parents loved them very much. Egg "Lilies of the valley" was not the beginning new series works. Faberge had to look elsewhere for inspiration. Therefore, in the next few years, almost every egg destined for Alexandra will be an elaborate but impersonal decoration, or the emphasis will be on the main events of her husband's reign. Faberge had nowhere to turn around.
To be continued....
