Meet the polygamists of the Bible
Gustav Fabergé founded the Fabergé jewelry firm in 1842 after arriving in Saint Petersburg from his homeland of Estonia. The last name Fabergé comes from the Latin root faber, which means “smith,” indicating that the Fabergé family had been a family of craftspeople for quite some time.
Easter is one of the most important holidays of the Russian Orthodox calendar, and the exchange of Easter eggs between spouses was commonplace among all social classes. For the Easter of 1885, Tsar Alexander III, the leader of Russia, wanted to go the extra mile.
The Hen Egg set the standard for Fabergé eggs to come. Hidden inside was a perfect sphere made of solid gold, and inside this “yolk” was a small golden hen. The hen could also be opened up, to reveal a tiny diamond replica of the imperial crown and a tiny ruby pendant.
His wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, was to receive a special Easter egg made on special order by Peter Carl Fabergé himself, one made from pristine white enamel, with a gold band around the middle. This is now known as the Hen Egg, the first of 52 Fabergé eggs that were to be made for the royal family.
After 32 years of commissions, the Bolshevik Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin (pictured), brought an end to the era of the Fabergé eggs. In 1918, the royal family was executed by the revolutionaries, and the Fabergé workshop was nationalized by the new government. The Fabergé family fled to Switzerland shortly afterwards, and Peter Carl Fabergé died two years later.
While all the eggs were made under Fabergé’s supervision, he didn’t design each one personally. Some of the most famous and most beautiful eggs were designed by Alma Pihl, one of the only women who worked at the firm.
Alma Pihl is responsible for the design of the Mosaic Egg, possibly the most iconic egg out of the 52. Set in its platinum mold are dozens upon dozens of diamonds, pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, topaz, and other precious gems. Today, it is in the Royal Collection of England.
After the revolution, all the royal Romanov palaces were ransacked, and all the Fabergé eggs found were confiscated and sent to the Kremlin Armory. Of the 52 imperial eggs, eight remain missing to this day.
Only one member of the royal family managed to escape execution: Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna, mother of Nicholas II. She escaped on an English battleship and managed to take with her one of the eggs, the Order of St. George Egg.
The tsar and empress were so impressed by this first egg that Alexander III put in a standing order with Fabergé for new eggs to be crafted each year. The only rules were that the designs could never be repeated, they were always to be in the shape of an egg, and there was always to be some sort of surprise inside.
Once Stalin rose to power, he brought the eggs out of storage and had them appraised, hoping that the communist government could sell them to the West in an effort to gather some much-needed funding.
Now, let’s have a look at some of the most beautiful and iconic Fabergé eggs that still survive. The 15th Anniversary Egg was created in 1911 and commemorates the 15th anniversary of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. It was given by the tsar to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Its value sits at around US$15 million.
Between 1930 and 1933, 14 of the remaining eggs were sold to various royals and oligarchs around the world. Some went to Paris, some to London, but the majority were bought by American petroleum giant and socialist sympathizer Armand Hammer.
Today, only 10 of the imperial eggs remain in Russia. The rest are scattered across the world, some in museums, some in private collections. Many sit in the Queen of England’s Royal Collection.
The Coronation Egg was crafted by a pair of Fabergé craftsmen in 1897 to commemorate the coronation of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Inside this egg was a golden replica of the carriage that carried the empress on the day of her coronation. This egg is estimated to be worth around US$18 million today.
This was the first egg commissioned after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, during which no eggs were made. It was given to Empress Feodorovna by Tsar Nicholas II, to commemorate the birth of their son, Alexei Nikolaevich, three years earlier.
True to its name, the Third Imperial Egg was the third to be commissioned by Tsar Alexander III, in 1887. The Third Imperial Egg is also the most prized and valuable egg, due to a mysterious 100-year gap in its history.
One of the most intricate and delicate of the imperial eggs is the Orange Tree Egg, crafted in 1911. This was a gift from Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The egg was crafted out of nephrite and enamel, and was adorned with a variety of diamonds, amethysts, and citrines. A tiny hidden lever pops open the top of the egg, revealing a miniature songbird emerging from the leaves.
The Trans-Siberian Railway Egg, crafted in 1900, is one of the 10 Fabergé eggs that remains in Russia, in the custody of the Kremlin Armory. It is made of onyx, gold, silver, and enamel. Inside this egg is a five-car replica of a locomotive train made of gold and platinum, and it comes with a key that is used to wind up the train and make it move.
This egg was crafted in memory of Catherine the Great, the legendary and longest-reigning empress of the Russian Empire, who died in 1796. Maria Feodorovna, the receiver of this egg in 1914, described it in a letter to the English Queen Alexandra as “an unbelievable beautiful and superbly fine piece of work. Fabergé is the greatest genius of our time.”
Until the rediscovery of the Third Imperial Egg, the Blue Serpent Clock Egg was thought to be the third egg commissioned, despite inconsistencies with the description from the revolution. It is now thought to have been commissioned in 1895.
The Gatchina Palace Egg is now kept in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. It was crafted in 1901 under the direct supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé. Inside the egg is a miniature replica of the Gatchina Palace, the royal residence of the dowager empress on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg.
The Caucasus Egg was crafted in 1893, as a gift for then-Empress of Russia Maria Feodorovna. When opened, the four doors on each side of the egg reveal beautiful, miniature paintings of the Caucasus Mountains and countryside, specifically the town of Abastumani, where the Empress’ son died of tuberculosis. A portrait of her son is located at the top of the egg.
Crafted in 1906, the Moscow Kremlin Egg is by far the largest Fabergé egg ever crafted. It is also one of the only eggs that never left Russian possession, and has resided in the Kremlin Armory since the Bolshevik Revolution. The base of the egg doubles as a music box and can play two different songs.
The Constellation Egg was the last Fabergé egg to begin production in 1917, just weeks before the start of the Bolshevik Revolution. The egg was never able to be finished, and was never seen by any member of the royal family.
Sources: (Vogue) (PBS) (Town & Country)
See also: A history of jewelry
The Third Imperial Egg disappeared from the records around 1922, shortly after the revolution. When serious historiography regarding Fabergé began in the early 2000s, a theory of a missing “third egg” that would fill a gap in the chronology began to circulate. In 2012, an unwitting American scrap dealer was googling an egg he had bought for US$13,000 a few years before, unaware of its historical significance, and quickly found that his egg was worth upwards of US$20 million.
This egg was produced in 1898 under the direct supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé. Some of the materials used include diamonds, pearls, and rubies. The portraits, of Nicholas II and his two children are exposed by twisting a pearl button on the egg that pushes them out of the top.
It's hard to have a conversation about iconic royal heirlooms without mentioning the Fabergé eggs. Made for the rulers of Russia as gifts to their family during the late 1800s and early 1900s, they have become some of the most famous pieces of decorative art in history. Now scattered in museums and private collections around the world, these eggs, made from precious metals and adorned with innumerable jewels and gems, were once the most prized possessions of a dynasty on its way out. More than just beautiful heirlooms, they also mark the end of the nearly 300-year long era of the Romanov family’s reign over the Russian states. After the Bolsheviks ousted the Romanovs in 1917, almost all evidence of their reign was wiped away, the Fabergé eggs being an exception. Each of the more than 50 eggs, designed and created exclusively in the House of Fabergé workshop in Saint Petersburg, are exquisite feats of craftsmanship and are highly sought after by collectors across the globe.
Intrigued? Read on to find out more about these feats of craftsmanship, and take a look at some of the most beautiful of the imperial Fabergé eggs.
Why are Fabergé eggs so special?
Extravagant relics from a lost empire
LIFESTYLE History
It's hard to have a conversation about iconic royal heirlooms without mentioning the Fabergé eggs. Made for the rulers of Russia as gifts to their family during the late 1800s and early 1900s, they have become some of the most famous pieces of decorative art in history. Now scattered in museums and private collections around the world, these eggs, made from precious metals and adorned with innumerable jewels and gems, were once the most prized possessions of a dynasty on its way out. More than just beautiful heirlooms, they also mark the end of the nearly 300-year long era of the Romanov family’s reign over the Russian states. After the Bolsheviks ousted the Romanovs in 1917, almost all evidence of their reign was wiped away, the Fabergé eggs being an exception. Each of the more than 50 eggs, designed and created exclusively in the House of Fabergé workshop in Saint Petersburg, are exquisite feats of craftsmanship and are highly sought after by collectors across the globe.
Intrigued? Read on to find out more about these feats of craftsmanship, and take a look at some of the most beautiful of the imperial Fabergé eggs.