The Faberge Egg

The Faberge Egg was a particular type of jeweled egg made by Peter Carl Faberge and his company. They are most known for providing the jeweled creations for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II who gave them as Easter gifts to their loved ones. Alexander III gifted them to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna and after his death their son Nicholas II continued to gift them to her as well as his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 50 eggs were made in total and 43 exist today, two more were planned but never delivered because of the Russian revolution. Like most Easter eggs many contained surprises inside them. Today the surviving eggs are placed in various collections with most being at the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow, Russia. Other eggs belong to the Royal Collection in London-the art collection of the British Royal Family, the Prince of Monaco's collection, and The State of Qatar. The eggs are exquisite and I could spend hours talking about them but for now I'll highlight four. I may highlight others in future blog posts.

First Hen Egg or Jeweled Hen Egg



The very first Faberge Egg given to Empress Maria from Alexander in 1885. The egg opened to reveal the golden yolk seen here which then opened to reveal the golden hen. The hen opened to reveal a diamond and gold crown which contained a ruby pendant. The crown and pendant are missing. The egg is owned by Viktor Vekselberg and has been since 2004.

Moscow Kremlin



Gifted to Empress Alexandra in 1906 this egg is among the few that has never left Russia. The base of the egg contains a music box which served as the surprise. This egg fittingly belongs to the Kremlin Armoury.

Alexander Palace



This egg is a favourite of mine because it represents the Tsar's family. Given to Alexandra in 1908, this egg contains on the outside miniature watercolour portraits of  their children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei. Above each portrait is a diamond initial for each child's first name and inside the egg on the reverse of the portraits are their dates of birth. Alexandra's initials 'AF' are also represented in diamonds. The surprise of this egg is a miniature Alexander Palace. This egg also belongs to the Kremlin Armoury.

Constellation



This was the final Imperial Faberge Egg. It was never finished or delivered to Alexandra because of the revolution. Two eggs claim to be the Constellation, one-pictured here-is held in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum another claiming to be the original-as well as finished egg-is owned by Alexander Ivanov who holds his egg in the Faberge Museum. Engraved on the egg is the astrological sign Leo which was the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei's sign-as well as mine. There are also stars marked by diamonds and a clock mechanism inside.

Faberge Eggs are a relic from a foregone era that live eternally through the grandeur they left behind. Despite the efforts of the Bolsheviks the beauty of Imperial Russia lives on and the Imperial Family does as well.

Nicholas II of Russia: 6 O.S./18 N.S. May, 1868-17 July, 1918 (aged 50)
Alexandra Feodorovna: 6 June, 1872-17 July, 1918 (aged 45)
Olga Nikolaevna: 15 November, 1895-17 July, 1918 (aged 22)
Tatiana Nikolaevna: 10 June, 1897-17 July, 1918 (aged 21)
Maria Nikolaevna: 26 June, 1899-17 July, 1918 (aged 19)
Anastasia Nikolaevna: 18 June, 1901-17 July, 1918 (aged 17)
Alexei Nikolaevich: 12 August, 1904-17 July, 1918 (aged 13)