Fantastic Faberge
March 16th 2008 03:43
The very name, Faberge, evokes luxury and beauty. Orignially French, the family settled in Russia in the eighteenth century when Peter the Great invited artists and skilled people to Saint Petersburg. Its reputation was acquired in the nineteenth century when Peter Carl Faberge began making jewellery and used unusual enamelling techniques. He was assisted by his brother, Agathon.
Tsar Alexander III, impressed by copies of ancient jewellery made by Faberge for an exhibition, commissioned the company to create an egg for his wife, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The Tsar and his son, Nicholas 11, did this for their Tsarinas every Easter until 1916.
The first egg, made of platinum and enamelled white, contained an egg within an egg. When opened, the small egg displayed a golden chicken and a 'jewelled replica of the Imperial Crown', according to the Liverpool Echo.
Unfortunately the company declined after the Revolution although some of the family managed to escape to France. The rights were
sold for only $25,000.00.
Interest in Faberge articles, especially the gorgeous eggs, has surged recently. The enormously wealthy Russian, Alexander Ivanov, bought a gold and pink enamel Rothschild Faberge egg at a Christie's auction in November. This cost him $17.7 million American dollars. He said that this engagement gift to Baron Rothsdchild was Faberge's 'most expensive, finest and largest egg ever'. The egg contains a clock and diamond-set cockerel that opens every hour and flaps its wings.
Ivanov intends to open museums of his collections and presently has one on the Internet. This can be seen at: [LINK=http://www.rnm.ru]
Most of us can't afford an original Faberge egg or even an original piece of Faberge jewellery. However, small items such as perfumes and candlesticks made by the new firm are available in Australia from $250.00
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There are a few inexpensive Faberge items at Peters of Kensington.