What was in the Easter egg. Faberge eggs

"Dear testicle for Christ's day." The proverb takes on a special meaning when it comes to Faberge eggs. Not a simple pysanka or an egg painted with onion peel, but gold, enamel, precious stones, rock crystal and fine work... 10 facts about the pinnacles of Faberge's jewelry craftsmanship.

Egg "Coronation"

Remembrance - as a gift

The prototype of Faberge's first work was an egg from the Danish royal treasury. In the 18th century, jewelry Easter eggs were made in Denmark with a surprise chicken inside. According to the principle of nesting dolls, a crown was kept in a chicken. Emperor Alexander III gave his wife Maria Feodorovna, the former Danish princess Dagmar, an analogue - the work of Carl Faberge. This gift served as the basis of the whole collection.

Freedom of creativity and three conditions for a court jeweler

Getting to work, Carl Faberge had to adhere to the shape of an egg. Link the content with the life of the royal family and prevent self-repetitions. The emperor was impatiently interested in the plot of the new work, to which the jeweler replied: “Your Majesty will be satisfied.”

Surprise inside every egg

Faberge justified the high status of the court jeweler, keeping the intrigue. Made 71 eggs, 54 - imperial. And each surprise is a miracle in miniature. The most famous is an exact copy of the coronation carriage of Nicholas II, the most unexpected are a manicure set and a map of the empire with the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Egg "Georgievsky"

Family tradition along with the throne

After the death of Alexander III, his successor Nicholas II continued the tradition of his father. Now two crowned ladies - the wife and mother of the emperor - received gifts from Faberge. Only one gift - "St. George's" egg - Maria Fedorovna was able to take out in 1918, leaving Russia for Denmark.

Faberge and company

Carl Faberge is a hereditary jeweler and a whole concern worked on royal gifts. Among the masters - the most famous Mikhail Perkhin and the only lady-artist Alma Pihl, who invented frost on crystal - "Winter Egg". A team of jewelers spent a year on each work - just before the new Easter.

Egg "Military steel"

In the spirit of the times

In jewelry work, not only precious metals were used. In the pre-revolutionary years, many masters of the Faberge firm went to the front, and in difficult times for the country, Alexandra Fedorovna received a military steel egg as a gift. And in 1917, an egg was made for Maria Feodorovna from Karelian birch.

criminal interest

Faberge eggs and the criminal interest in them is a favorite topic for filmmakers. Soviet - "Connoisseurs are investigating" and Western - one of the Bond series, pictures with Mick Jagger, Audrey Hepburn, Martin Lawrence. And for the film "Ocean's 12" they made a metal copy of the Faberge egg. The work cost $4,000.

Based on Faberge

Jewelry fantasies on the Easter theme haunt fashion designers. Entire fashion collections are created based on the works of the imperial jeweler. The first - Valentina Yudashkina with dresses in the shape of eggs in the Faberge style - made a splash at the show in Paris. Pierre Cardin was the first to congratulate his young colleague on his success.

Karelian birch egg

Faberge stamp

The sign of the double-headed eagle - the Faberge brand - gives the jewelry eggs artistic value and adds additional zeros to the market value. Many tried to work “under Faberge”, and at the end of the 20th century, an exhibition of fakes was even held in New York. Authentic works are in the collections of five countries - Russia, USA, Great Britain, Monaco, Switzerland.

See with my own eyes

After the sale of the royal heritage by the Bolsheviks, only a part of the Faberge products returned to their homeland. The world's largest collection of eggs is located in St. Petersburg, in the Faberge Museum. The second largest is in the Armory. One more - in the exposition of the Hermitage and the Mineralogical Museum. where there are eight more imperial gifts - is still unknown.

Faberge eggs are famous all over the world. These works of the famous Russian master Carl Faberge are the dream of every collector. The Faberge firm became famous in 1885, when Emperor Alexander III bought a gift from him for his wife. It was an enameled white egg, 6.5×3.5 cm in size. There was a golden stripe in the middle of it. At this level, the egg was opened. Inside was a golden yolk containing the same golden hen, and in it a ruby ​​crown with a ruby ​​pendant. The egg used the principle of nesting dolls. After this gift, Faberge became famous. Every year at Easter, the emperor's family ordered an egg from him, he became a jeweler at court. Faberge had to keep the design of the future product secret and make it unique every time. Soon, all the tsar's entourage wanted to have such eggs at home, and Faberge's fame reached foreign countries.

Karl did not mass-produce his souvenirs. Today, 71 eggs made by the master are known, 54 of them were made for the emperor's family. These products differ in design and internal content. To date, 62 eggs have survived, of which 46 are imperial.

Inside each egg was a souvenir. Fabergé's first piece was a watch from Vacheron Constantin. The Memory of Azov egg, made of green heliotrope adorned with gold and diamonds, contained a small golden frigate. In the souvenir of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna made of transparent rock crystal, 12 small miniatures with landscapes rotated around the 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". Faberge eggs are unique, their price grows every year and exceeds their real value several times. Even despite the fact that they are made of precious stones and metals.

Faberge was not the author of all the eggs produced under this brand. He collaborated with such jewelers as Mikhail Perkhin, Eric Kolin, August and Albert Holstrom and Alma Peel. They worked not only with the imperial family. For example, jewelers made seven eggs for the Kelchs, as well as ten items for other noble families. These souvenirs are also unique, but they are inferior in originality. Many secrets and elements were repeated and resembled eggs made for the emperor. There were watches, miniatures, and a chicken with a pendant. The most famous is the Rothschild Egg. It 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. This egg was all this time in the Rothschild family, they learned about it only in 2007.

Faberge's works in Russia can be seen in the Armory and at exhibitions of the Link of Times Foundation. For the fund, the eggs were bought from the Forbes collector by the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Several Faberge works are in private hands and in some museums around the world.

Faberge eggs - the famous series of jewelry by Carl Faberge. The series was 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 phrase "Faberge Eggs" has become a synonym for luxury and an emblem of the wealth of the imperial house of Russia.

Making elaborately decorated Easter eggs was both a tradition and an ancient craft in Russia. Long before Faberge began creating jewelry eggs for the imperial family, eggs made from precious metals and stones were made for Russian tsars. But only Carl Faberge and his talented team of artists, jewelers, stone cutters, model sculptors and miniaturists managed to bring the art of making jewelry Easter eggs to an unprecedented and unsurpassed level of elegance, craftsmanship and creative imagination.

Carl Faberge and his firm's jewelers created the first egg in 1885. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Feodorovna. The so-called “Chicken” egg was smooth and enameled on the outside, but when it was opened, a chicken made of gold turned out to be inside. Inside the chicken, in turn, was hidden a small ruby ​​​​crown (cf. the tradition of folding matryoshkas).

Faberge Egg "Hen" 1885
The most simple and classic egg: white, inside the yolk, then the hen, and inside it is a ruby ​​crown (not preserved)

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. The next emperor, Nicholas II, continued this tradition, each spring giving, in turn, two eggs - one to Maria Feodorovna, his widowed mother, and the second to Alexandra Feodorovna, the new empress.

The next egg made by the Faberge firm was the Hen with Sapphire Pandan egg, there is no information about it and no image. The first owner is Maria Fedorovna, born in 1886. Location: Cleveland Museum of Art, Minshell Early Indian Collection.

Faberge egg "Clock with a blue snake" 1887
Egg clock, made in the tradition of Sevres porcelain. The stationary snake serves as an arrow.
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Prince Albert Collection.

Faberge Egg "Cherub and Chariot" 1888
Malachite egg with carriage, deer and three cherubs inside. The stand is foldable and has two options.
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Location unknown (since 1930s), probably USA.

Faberge Egg "Nesser"1889
Contains a 13-piece manicure set. Last known price $3,000,000
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Location unknown (missing)

Faberge Egg "Danish Palaces" 1890
Inside: 12 miniature paintings on mother-of-pearl - views of palaces in Denmark and Russia.

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, some of whose names have been preserved (so it should not be said that the author of all of them is Carl Faberge). The contribution of master Mikhail Perkhin is especially great. Also mentioned are August Holstrom, Henrik Wigstrom, Eric Collin.

Faberge egg with a model of the cruiser "Memory of Azov", 1891
Materials: Gold, platinum, silver, diamonds, rose-cut diamonds, ruby, aquamarine, heliotrope, velvet. egg length - 35/8 inches (9.3 cm); model length - 7.0 cm; model height - 4.0 cm. Technique: casting, chasing, engraving, stone carving. Inside: a model of the frigate "Memory of Azov", on which the sons of Mary were sailing at that moment. Jewelers - Mikhail Perkhin and Yuri Nikolai. Made of jade, in the Rococo style.
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Stored in the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, Inv.No. MP-645/1-2.

A series of imperial eggs enjoyed such fame that the Faberge company made several items for private customers (15 are known). Among them stands apart a series of 7 eggs presented by the gold miner Alexander Ferdinandovich 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.

Faberge Egg "Diamond Lattice" 1892
A stand in the form of cherubs holding an egg has been lost. Jade.
The lost surprise is an elephant (Danish armorial animal).
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Private collection, London

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, without being advertised, for a whole century.

Faberge Egg "Caucasus" 1893
Inside: miniatures with views of the Caucasus with the places where the son of the Empress Grand Duke lived. George.
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. New Orleans Art Museum.

Of the 71 known eggs, only 62 have survived to this day. The vast majority of them are kept in state museums. 54 imperial eggs are known: 46 pieces made by the royal order have survived to this day; the rest are known from descriptions, accounts, and old photographs and are thought to be lost.

Faberge Egg "Renaissance" 1894
Jeweler - Mikhail Perkhin. Agate. The type of casket Le Roy of the 17th century, which was kept in the "Green Vaults" in Dresden, in the homeland of Faberge, was used. The surprise is unknown, there is an assumption that it was a crystal egg "Resurrection"
The first owner is Maria Fedorovna. Vekselberg collection

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 gave his highest permission to the St. coat of arms on a shop sign. 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: the gift must be oval in shape, the design must not be repeated, and each egg must 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, New York, acquired 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 of the 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, the quick reaction of cousin Nikolai 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. The Lily of the Valley egg did not become the beginning of a new series of 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....

Peter Carl Faberge was born in Russia in St. Petersburg, a Russian German by birth. His father, Gustav Faberge, came from a German family and was originally from Estonia, and his mother, Charlotte Jungstedt, was the daughter of a Danish artist. In 1842, Faberge Sr. founded a jewelry firm in St. Petersburg. Peter Faberge traveled around Europe and initially studied in Dresden, and then began to master the jewelry business of the Frankfurt master Josef Friedman. At the age of 24, in 1870, he took over his father's firm. In 1900, in Paris, Faberge received the title of "Master of the Paris Guild of Jewelers", and he was also awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. For thirty-two years of work, Carl Faberge made fifty eggs for the royal family. Their exact number was established by accounts in the Imperial Cabinet. Faberge sent another egg to the palace and, at the same time, an invoice for payment. 42 eggs have survived to this day, the rest disappeared during the revolutionary years.

The Faberge Company

From 1885 to 1916, the court jeweler of the royal family, Carl Faberge, presented the king with one masterpiece a year. The total number of Easter eggs created by Faberge for the imperial family is 50.

Easter before the revolution was the favorite holiday of the people of Russia, as it coincided with the arrival of spring, warmth and the awakening of nature. At the end of the 19th century, Easter acquired a universal meaning: a whole branch of applied art was formed, which was engaged in the production of Easter products. Easter eggs were produced in huge quantities, and they were made from a variety of materials - glass, porcelain, wood, various ornamental materials, stones, and flowers.

Ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya once told how for Easter she was presented with a large egg made of live lilies of the valley, and a miniature precious egg was attached to it, which could be worn as a keychain. Once she was presented with a simple straw egg, inside of which were packed wonderful little things from Faberge.
Imperial Faberge Easter Eggs

Jewelry Easter eggs by Carl Faberge were considered the pinnacle of the genre of Easter applied art, they became a kind of symbol of the era.

Tsar Alexander III gave Faberge Easter eggs to his wife Maria Feodorovna, Tsar Nicholas II presented them as gifts to his mother and wife Alexandra Feodorovna. It is assumed that the emperors gave Easter eggs produced by Faberge and other members of the royal family. Currently, only 42 Fabergé masterpieces are known to have survived.

The order, according to which Faberge made eggs for the king, contained the fulfillment of three conditions: egg-shaped; a surprise containing a connection with some event of the royal family and the third condition - that the work should not be repeated.

Thus, these Easter gifts were created decorated with royal monograms or dates, some had miniature portraits of children and the emperor himself or images of royal residences, two of them contained models of ships on which the last Russian emperor sailed.

The egg was solemnly presented to the tsar either by Carl Faberge himself or by his son Eugene and was invariably met with great delight, since at the same time everyone could see the surprise hidden in the gift.

Egg technique

Made eggs were fastened with clasps and loops so that if necessary, they could be easily disassembled for care or repair. In turn, the use of such equipment and such a design of the product removed many restrictions in the choice of materials. Faberge combined the use of precious materials with materials that were inexpensive but easy to work with.

The "shell" of the egg was enamelled using the famous Faberge technique. If the egg consisted of two drop-down halves, the design was developed so that the finish carefully masked the closing edges of both halves.

Decorative overlays attached to the surface of Easter eggs not only defined the artistic style, but also contributed to the creation of plots that anticipated or emphasized the significance of the surprises inside. The choice of material for the manufacture of decorative finishes depended on their purpose.

In the manufacture of Easter eggs, as a substitute for gold, which has both beauty and strength, gilded bronze and gilded silver were used. Silver was also used to frame miniature surprise portraits, as it had the most lustrous surface of all materials. For purely decorative purposes, Faberge often used colored gold. Selecting the ratio of pure gold and other pure metals, he received a set of shades of different saturation.

Many Easter eggs are decorated with a continuous decorative mesh (cagework), which was made from a wide variety of materials.

Most of the details of the outer decoration, starting with frames and scallops made of gold of different shades and ending with the leaves and stems of flowers on the Lily of the Valley Easter egg, were fastened to the egg shell with the help of miniature fasteners. Fasteners soldered to the reverse side of the parts were inserted into the holes in the shells. Then they were bent along the inner surface of the shell to securely fasten the decorations. While drilling holes in the enameled shell, the egg was immersed in water so that the drill would not overheat and damage the enamel coating.

Surprises in Faberge eggs

Among the "surprises" hidden in many Faberge Easter eggs are miniature models made from precious materials, jewelry, as well as images of people, events and places that mattered to the imperial family. Some surprises are, in fact, individual works of art that can only be seen or, in some cases, set in motion when removed from the egg. Other secrets can be observed through the transparent shell of the egg.

The opening parts of the egg were hinged. The upper part of the egg shell served as a lid. The side parts were flaps that opened up or down depending on the location of the hinges. The part of the outer body of the egg that hides the surprise was usually attached to spring hinges, which are designed in such a way that when a button or pawl is pressed, it opens smoothly.

There was no object, object or plant that the Faberge masters could not reproduce as a surprise for an Easter egg. The model of the Gatchina Palace with the adjacent territories, with trees, lampposts, was made of four colors of gold. The layout of the monument to Peter I, made by Falcone on the order of Catherine the Great, was also embodied in a “surprise”. The Faberge Easter Egg “Gatchina Palace” is located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, The Walters Art Museum.

The simple mechanisms used in some Easter eggs have been specially designed for each occasion. A simple gear mechanism raised and lowered three miniature portraits of Czar Nicholas II and his eldest daughters, Olga and Tatyana, in a Lily of the Valley Easter egg. Some eggs have built-in clocks, which are wound by keys, which are usually inserted into a hole in the back of the case, but there are also mechanisms that are wound by a handle. On some Easter eggs, the clock has a horizontal numeral band that rotates against a fixed marker. Inside special eggs are hidden figurines of birds that appear every hour from the top of the egg.

Perhaps the most famous “surprise” is the “Coronation” Easter egg coronation carriage - a miniature model 3 and 1/6 inches (8cm) long, made of gold and enamel - an exact copy of the carriage that was used at the coronation of Nicholas II and his wife 1896 d. “Curtains” are engraved directly on the rock crystal windows. Decorated doorknobs, smaller than a grain of rice, pivot to latch open and close. The body of the carriage rests on straps that are shock-absorbing like real leather, thus the body on the chassis also sways when the crew moves.

The most ingenious secrets are set in motion by winding mechanisms. The Swiss automatic machines of the 18th century served as the basis for the creation of these mechanisms; however, the model of the train in the Great Siberian Way Easter egg is an exact copy of the real locomotive and carriages of the Trans-Siberian Express. The working model train is folded section by section into a velvet-lined case inside the egg. The map of the railway route and the heraldic eagle crowning the entire composition also serve as a hint of the surprise hidden inside the egg.

Made in the best traditions of Faberge, the Easter egg “The Great Siberian Way” and its “surprise” are among those works of art that delight the eye, captivate the imagination and warm the soul.

Nine eggs returned to Russia

On February 4, 2004, Sotheby's auction house announced the sale, under a private agreement, of the Forbes Faberge collection to Russian industrialist Viktor Vekselberg, who returned the eggs to Russia. Before returning to Russia, the collection, including the legendary nine Imperial Easter Eggs, was presented at a public exhibition at Sotheby's in New York. This part of the collection, consisting of nine eggs, was valued at $ 90 million, the final amount of the transaction was not disclosed. Sotheby's auction house carried out this private transaction on behalf of the Forbes family.

Source: Imperial Faberge Easter Eggs

Faberge Easter eggs from the collection of the Moscow Kremlin (Armoury)

One of the oldest and richest museums in the Moscow Kremlin is the Armory, which has a wonderful collection of monuments.
arts and crafts. The collection of the national treasury presents products of Russian jewelry firms of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among them are the works of the famous Faberge firm: watches, cigarette cases, jewelry, silverware, tea and coffee sets, crystal vase frames, miniature sculptural figurines made of colored ornamental stones.

The pride of the collection is ten imperial Easter eggs with surprises, which are the pinnacle of creative inspiration and honed craftsmanship of a galaxy of outstanding jewelers and artists under the guidance of Carl Faberge, who at the beginning of the 20th century was recognized in Paris as a Maitre - one of the best jewelers of our time.

Making elaborately decorated Easter eggs was both a tradition and
old craft in Russia. Long before Faberge began creating jewelry eggs for the imperial family, eggs made from precious metals and stones were made for Russian tsars. But only Carl Faberge and his talented team of artists, jewelers, stone cutters, model sculptors and miniaturists managed to bring the art of making jewelry Easter eggs to an unprecedented and unsurpassed level of elegance, craftsmanship and creative imagination.

In total, from 1885 to 1917, by order of the emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II, about 56 Easter masterpieces were created (the exact number is unknown). Eggs made in the workshop of Mikhail Perkhin, which after his death was headed by Heinrich Wigström, were distinguished by unprecedented luxury, amazing imagination, unsurpassed perfection in detail, and a virtuoso combination of a variety of techniques. Never repeating themselves, they were especially impressive with the surprises contained in them - miniature copies of royal yachts and cruisers with the finest gear, palaces with flowerbeds of “fluffy” gold broken in front of them, monuments strewn with stones, flowers or buds.

Jewelry Easter eggs-souvenirs were a surprise not only for those to whom they were intended as a gift, but often for the emperor who ordered them. "Your Majesty will be pleased" - such an answer was usually given by Faberge to the question about the plot of the next egg.

Egg with a model of the cruiser "Memory of Azov", 1891

On the armored ship "Memory of Azov", built at the Baltic Shipyard in the late 80s of the XIX century, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (future Emperor Nicholas II) traveled to the East in 1890-1891, during which he was attacked by a Japanese samurai fanatic in the city of Otsu and miraculously survived. The voyage ended in Vladivostok, where the Tsarevich and heir to the throne laid the foundation for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The egg was presented by Emperor Alexander III to Empress Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1891.

Egg clock, 1899

The clock hand resembles Cupid's arrow shot from a bow; it is surrounded by torches, whose flames turn into lush vegetative curls. Together with a bouquet of lilies "sprouting" through a wreath of multi-colored gold roses, they symbolize the virtuous flame of family love. This Easter egg, made in the form of an old French clock in the style of Louis XVI, is a kind of embodied declaration of love by Nicholas II to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

Egg with a model of a Siberian train, 1900

This Easter egg is a typical example of a commemorative gift product created by the company in honor of an important historical event - the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, inspired by Emperor Alexander III and continued into the reign of Nicholas II. The road connected the European and Asian parts of Russia, the largest industrial cities with the military port of Vladivostok, which gave impetus to the intensive development of the vast Siberian outskirts.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

Egg clover, 1902

On the openwork rim of the egg there is an image of the imperial crown, the date "1902" and the monogram of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna framed by clover flowers. The surprise is gone. But the museum staff managed to find a unique archival document, from which it follows that a precious quatrefoil with 4 miniatures was fortified inside. Probably, portraits of the royal daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia) were depicted on the petals of the surprise, therefore it was a symbol of the happy marriage of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, a symbol of the union of two loving people. According to legend, it was believed that finding a four-leaf clover was a great rarity and good luck. The egg is made in the "modern" style with its floral motifs and exquisite outlines, which is the best suited for the embodiment of an intimate family theme.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1902.

Egg "Moscow Kremlin", 1904-1906



This Easter egg was made to commemorate the stay of the tsar and the tsarina in the Mother See of the golden-domed capital during the celebration of Easter in 1903, which was received with enthusiasm by the entire Russian society and, in particular, by Muscovites. Carrying out this work of extraordinary design, the masters of the Faberge firm sought to create an image of the ancient Kremlin - both majestic and fabulously elegant. Before us is a peculiar, virtuoso variation on the theme of the Kremlin architecture.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1906.

Egg with a model of the Alexander Palace, 1908

The Alexander Palace was the country residence of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, who rarely left the walls of the palace and led a rather secluded life, for which they were called "Tsarskoye Selo hermits".

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1908.

Egg with a model of the yacht "Standard", 1909

The yacht "Standart" was the favorite yacht of Nicholas II. On it, the king's family spent a lot of time in the skerries of the Gulf of Finland, until the yacht was wrecked in the coastal skerries.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1909.

Egg with a model of the monument to Alexander III, 1910

The model inside the egg reproduces the monument by the sculptor P. Trubetskoy, erected on the Znamenskaya Square in St. Petersburg near the Nikolaevsky railway station in accordance with the rescript of Nicholas II in memory of his father.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1910.

Egg "300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty", 1913

The egg, made for the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty, is decorated with eighteen miniature portraits of representatives of the reigning dynasty. Flat diamonds are fixed at the top and bottom of the egg, through which the dates "1613" and "1913" are visible. Inside the egg, a rotating blued steel globe is fixed, on which a gold overlay image of the Northern Hemisphere is placed twice: on the one, the territory of Russia within the borders of 1613 is marked with colored gold, on the other - within the borders of 1913. In the decor of the egg, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the ruling dynasty, which was magnificently celebrated in the empire, elements of state symbols were abundantly used.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1913.

Egg with a miniature on an easel, 1916

The steel egg was created during the First World War, a difficult time for both Russia and the royal family. Therefore, its appearance is strict, and the decor is official and dry. Since the egg was created in honor of awarding the Tsar with the Order of St. George IV degree, the gold frame of the miniature is decorated with a black and orange ribbon and a white enamel cross of this order.

The egg was presented by Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for Easter 1916.

Faberge eggs have long been associated with the imperial house of Russia. These unique pieces of jewelry were made especially for the Russian monarchs and miraculously survived the October Revolution.

Almost all the works of art by Carl Faberge have survived to this day, and there are a total of 71 copies. Of this number, 54 jewelry eggs were made specifically for several generations of the royal family. Each of these unique creations was made in a single version, and had its own secret.

What other secrets does this amazing collection hold? This article contains the most fascinating facts about jewelry, which the whole world called Faberge eggs!

Carl Faberge

The world-famous jeweler was born in St. Petersburg in 1846. His father was also engaged in jewelry business, it is not surprising that Karl took over the passion for this business from his family and at the age of 24 he became the head of a jewelry company. In 1882, he took part in the All-Russian exhibition, where Emperor Alexander III liked his works.

Carl Faberge, Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna

Since then, the monarch has approached him several times with orders. A few years later, the emperor had an idea that only Carl Faberge could realize. He wanted to give something unusual for the Ascension of Jesus to his beloved wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Imperial Faberge Eggs

The first egg, ordered and designed by Emperor Alexander III, was made by a jeweler in 1885. Karl was not the creator of the concept of this souvenir, the emperor asked him to interpret the egg, which was created at the beginning of the 18th century. In total, three such copies were made, one of which was kept in Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. Since Maria Feodorovna was born in Denmark, the emperor wanted to give her something that would remind her of her childhood and the treasures of her native country.

All three eggs were made with a secret, and contained inside a miniature figure of a chicken, in which a ring was hidden. According to the same principle, Carl Faberge made his first jewelry egg, which was called "Hen" - from white enamel and matte gold. Like in a nesting doll, it had a small bird in which jewels were placed - a mini version of the imperial crown and a gold chain with a ruby ​​pendant.

Maria Feodorovna really liked the creation of Faberge, and she immediately elevated him to the rank of a jeweler at court. Now, for each day of ascension, he had to make an egg, in which there must be a surprise. After the death of Emperor Alexander III, the tradition of giving eggs was continued by Emperor Nicholas II, who ordered gifts for his mother and his wife. Soon, a whole team of jewelers from all over the world was engaged in the development and creation of eggs. Most of the craftsmen were from Finland, they all had their own workshops, but considered it an honor to participate in the creation of an order for monarchs.

In total, he made 54 eggs for the imperial house, but today you can see only 48 with your own eyes. After the revolution and the overthrow of the imperial family, the path of these decorations was long and thorny. There are also other collectible eggs that Faberge made for private individuals. It is difficult to say the exact number of these decorations, because Charles only documented the orders of the imperial family. According to reports, a total of 71 specimens are known.

Other Faberge eggs

Carl Faberge skillfully created his masterpieces and each time came up with new designs. Its eggs contained tiny ships, a replica of the emperor's carriage, mini-portraits made on easels, an elephant, and even a mechanical peacock that could walk and lift its tail.

The emperor's collection attracted the attention of many, and some private individuals wanted the same specimens for themselves. The largest collection, in addition to the royal one, was commissioned by magnate Alexander Kelkh for his dearest wife. It consists of seven pieces and is also very popular, although the models are not as skillfully made as the imperial ones. Eight eggs are also known to have been designed by individual orders, including for the Duchess of Marlborough, Felix Yusupov, the Rothschild family and others.

Faberge eggs now

After the revolution, eggs from different collections were scattered all over the world, because at first the Bolsheviks considered them of little value and placed them together with other jewelry in the Kremlin. In 1930, some of the eggs were sold, many for a ridiculous amount of about $400. At the moment, the largest imperial collections are in the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg (11 pieces), in the Moscow Armory (10 pieces), in the Richmond Museum (5 pieces).

There are jeweler's eggs in her possession - she keeps three masterpieces from the imperial collection and one belonging to Kelch. Among private collectors, tycoon Forbes managed to find the largest number of eggs, he boasted 15 copies. His heirs wanted to put the collection up for auction, but the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg offered a decent amount and bought all the copies. Now they are in the Faberge Museum, which he founded. According to a rough estimate, the cost of the Forbes collection cost him 100 million rubles.

The rest of the eggs are scattered around the world in private collections and museums. Among them there are both well-known exhibits and little-known works by Faberge. Until now, it is very popular and famous all over the world.

Long before the advent of Christianity, the ancient peoples considered the egg a prototype of the Universe - the world surrounding man was born from it. The attitude to the egg as a symbol of birth was reflected in the beliefs and customs of the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. And the Christian custom of giving each other Easter eggs is rooted in antiquity. Even in pagan times, this item had a great symbolic meaning, it was associated with life itself. An ancient Latin proverb says "All living things [come] from an egg."

In ancient Jerusalem, the egg was a symbol of the rebirth of nature on the vernal equinox. And this philosophical image passed into the Christian tradition, in which the Easter egg symbolizes new life, its rebirth.

According to legend, the first Easter egg Mary Magdalene presented to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. This happened shortly after the ascension of Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene went to see the emperor. In those days, it was customary, when coming to the emperor, to bring him gifts. The wealthy brought jewelry, and the poor brought what they could. Therefore, Mary Magdalene, who had nothing but faith in Jesus, handed the emperor Tiberius a chicken egg with an exclamation:
"Christ is risen!" The emperor, doubting what was said, noted that no one can rise from the dead, and this is just as hard to believe as that a white egg can turn red. Before Tiberius had time to finish these words, the egg began to change color from white to bright red.
For bearers of faith in Christ, red-painted eggs symbolized the blood shed by Christ and His death. Under the red shell of the egg is a white protein, which serves as a symbol of the Resurrection and the life of Christ.

In Orthodox everyday life, Easter eggs are not only painted, but also intricately painted. Such eggs are reminiscent of the scourging of Christ with the lines of their patterns. Therefore, it is necessary to paint and paint eggs on a special day in Holy Week (week) - on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday

Fun and games with Easter eggs

For centuries, the favorite Easter game in Rus' was "ball rolling" They arranged this game like this: they installed a wooden or cardboard “skating rink” and around it they freed up a flat place on which they laid out painted eggs, toys, plain souvenirs. Playing children approached the “skating rink” in turn and each rolled their own egg. The object that the testicle touched became the winner.

The children loved and "clink glasses" eggs with each other, hitting the opponent's egg with the blunt or sharp end of a dyed hard-boiled egg. The winner was the one whose egg did not break.

Why is the Easter Bunny delivering colored eggs at Easter?

There is a legend about this
At the time when the ark plowed the boundless waters that created the Great Flood, it came across the bottom of the top of the mountain, and a gap appeared in the vessel. And the ark would have gone into the deep waters, if not for the hare, which closed the hole with its short tail. It is in memory of the brave coward that legends were born. Children who are waiting for an Easter bunny or an Easter bunny are sure that it is he who, in a magical meadow in the forests of the German lands, cooks magic herbs in pots on firefly pollen, with which he manually paints each Easter egg. This animal among the Germanic peoples in ancient times was considered one of the symbols of fertility and prosperity. Gradually, the hare, as one of the emblems of Easter, appeared in England.

Interestingly, the custom of giving Easter eggs to each other exists in both Catholic and Orthodox countries. For example, in Italy and Germany, it is customary to bring chocolate eggs wrapped in multi-colored foil in a basket. Moreover, the German and Italian Easter basket, as a rule, also contains a chocolate hare.

Faberge eggs - a unique series of jewelry by Carl Faberge, created between 1885 and 1917. for the Russian imperial family and private buyers.
In the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church preserved the tradition of the Easter festivities. After several attempts on his life, Emperor Alexander III wished his wife would cast aside sad thoughts on Easter. As a traditional gift on Easter Day 1885, Carl Faberge's egg was presented to Maria Feodorovna.

The Empress was so enamored with the gift that Faberge received an order to make an egg every year. The next emperor, Nicholas II, continued this tradition, each spring giving, in turn, two eggs - one to Maria Feodorovna, his widowed mother, and the second to Alexandra Feodorovna, the new empress. This started a tradition that lasted 32 years.
Easter eggs created by Carl Faberge for the imperial family are today valued at millions of dollars and are considered unsurpassed examples of jewelry craftsmanship.

Hen (The First Imperial Easter Egg)

Egg "Peter the Great", 1903 Inside is a model of the Bronze Horseman. 4 miniatures on the sides with views of St. Petersburg. To the bicentenary of the founding of the city. Rococo.

Egg "Grisaille" (Catherine the Great). The egg is also known under other names - "Pink Cameos". The egg was made at the imperial court jewelry firm of Carl Faberge. The date of manufacture is 1914. Master jeweler - Heinrich Wigström. Rock crystal, gold, red enamel.

The "Blue Egg Clock with a Snake" was made in 1895 and was the first of the imperial Faberge eggs presented by Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Emperor Alexander III ordered an Easter egg from the Faberge firm in 1894, however, after his tragic death in 1894, it was presented to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna by her son, Nicholas II, on Easter 1895.

Egg dedicated to the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II - "Coronation".
Made in 1897. A miniature carriage model is inserted inside the egg - a surprise. In this carriage, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna rode to the coronation. The color scheme of the egg is reminiscent of the color scheme of the Empress's coronation dress.

The Lily of the Valley egg was made at the court imperial jewelry firm of Carl Faberge in 1898. Master jeweler - Mikhail Perkhin. Gold, transparent gold and pink enamel, diamonds, rubies, pearls, crystal, ivory. The egg is adorned with the Empress's favorite flowers and her favorite gems.

"Caucasian egg", 1893
Inside the egg are miniatures of the places in the Caucasus where Grand Duke George Alexandrovich lived.

"Equestrian monument to Alexander III", 1910. Inside is a model of the monument to the emperor by Paolo Trubetskoy.

Yacht "Standard" Image of the yacht of Emperor Alexander III. Rock crystal and lapis lazuli are used. Yacht of gold.

"Memory of Azov",
Inside is a model of the frigate "Memory of Azov", on which Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and his brother Georgy Alexandrovich sailed to the Far East in 1890-1891. Jewelers -Mikhail Perkhin Yuri Nikolay. Made of jade, in the Rococo style.

"Trans-Siberian Railway", 1900
An egg created in honor of the construction and opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The egg features a map of the empire with a highway. Surprise - train model. Jeweler - Mikhail Perkhin

Egg "Moscow Kremlin", the largest of the eggs. The Assumption Cathedral is depicted. Through the windows you can see the interior of the temple. Clockwork.
This Easter egg was made in memory of the stay of the king and queen in the Mother See of the Golden-domed capital during the celebration of Easter in 1903

Pelican egg. The egg unfolds into 8 miniature plates with institutions founded by the Widowed Empress Maria Feodorovna. The pelican is a symbol of charity.

The Renaissance egg was created and given to Emperor Alexander III in 1894, becoming the last Easter egg he gave to Empress Maria Feodorovna.

"Egg with Lattice and Roses". The egg was created by order of Nicholas II in 1907, who presented it to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna on the third anniversary of the birth of Tsarevich Alexei.

"Cradle with Garlands" ("Trophies of Love"), 1907. Created in the style of Louis XVI. Presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, on the occasion of the birth of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich, the long-awaited heir to the Romanov throne.

Egg "Tsarevich Alexei"

"Mosaic", 1914. Surprise - a cameo with profiles of children. The last pre-war egg. (Collection of Queen Elizabeth II) "Mosaic".

The Clover Egg was made in the Art Nouveau style in 1902. Its shape is formed by a pattern of stems and leaves of lever. Part of the leaves is filled with light green transparent enamel, and some of the leaves are decorated with small diamonds. Thin ribbons set out in rubies curl between the leaves.

Faberge Egg "Apple Blossoms" 1901 Large egg "Apple Blossom" is made in the shape of a jewelry box.

Peacock egg. The item bears the hallmark of the court jewelry firm of Carl Faberge. Made in 1908.

"Basket of Flowers", 1901. The flowers are made of gold and painted with multi-colored enamel. The "surprise" egg was lost. The leg is broken and lost, restored later. The egg was presented by the emperor to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, for Easter 1901. The egg is kept in the collection of the Queen of England - Elizabeth.

The Pansy egg was made in 1899 by order of Nicholas II, who presented it to his mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna. It is currently located in New Orleans, USA.

Easter egg "Spring Flowers", made around 1899. There is an opinion that the egg was presented to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna by one of her close relatives.

Egg "Cherub and Chariot"
Gift copy of the Faberge egg. Easter Egg
was created and transferred to Emperor Alexander III in 1888. The Cherub and the Chariot Malachite Egg is one of the lost imperial Easter eggs, so little information is available about it.

Egg "Alexander Palace"
Jade Easter egg was made in 1908 by order of Nicholas II. Jewelry egg "Alexander Palace", consists of two articulated parts, inlaid with gold and precious stones, decorated with five miniature watercolors - portraits of children of Nicholas II, framed with diamonds.