The Winter Egg is a Fabergé egg, one of a series of fifty-two jewelled Easter eggs created by Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. It was an Easter 1913 gift for Tsarina Maria Feodorovna from Tsar Nicholas II, who had a standing order of two Easter eggs every year, one for his mother and one for his wife. It was designed by Alma Pihl.
| Winter Egg Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
| Year delivered | 1913 |
| Customer | Nicholas II |
| Recipient | Maria Feodorovna |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Alma Pihl |
| Materials used | Diamond, quartz, platinum, orthoclase, gold, demantoid |
| Height | 102 millimetres (4.0 in) |
| Surprise | Flower basket |
The price in 1913 was 24,700 rubles, the most expensive Easter egg ever made. The egg left Russia after the Revolution, and ended up in the collection of Mr. Brian Ledbrooke, Esq. It was first sold at auction in 1994 at Christie's in Geneva for $5.6 million, the world record at that time for a Faberge item sold at auction.[1] The egg sold for US$9.6 million in an auction at Christie's in New York City in 2002.[2] It was reported that the buyer was Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.[3]
Design
editThe exterior of the egg resembles frost and ice crystals formed on clear glass. It is studded with 1,660 diamonds, and is made from quartz, platinum, and orthoclase. The miniature surprise flower basket is studded with 1,378 diamonds and is made from platinum and gold, while the wood anemones are made of white quartz and the leaves are made of demantoid. The flowers lie in gold moss. The egg is 102 millimetres (4.0 in) high.
References
edit- ^ Winship, Frederick M. (April 17, 2002). "Faberge egg sold for record $9.58 million". UPI. UPI. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Varoli, John (28 November 2007). "Rothschilds' Faberge Egg Fetches Record $16.5 Million (Update2)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ^ Nikkhah, Roya (16 March 2008). "Worth hunting for, the ultimate Easter eggs". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
Sources
edit- Faber, Toby (2008). Faberge's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6550-9.
- Forbes, Christopher; Prinz von Hohenzollern, Johann Georg (1990). FABERGE; The Imperial Eggs. Prestel. ASIN B000YA9GOM.
- Lowes, Will (2001). Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3946-6.
- Snowman, A Kenneth (1988). Carl Faberge: Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia. Gramercy. ISBN 0-517-40502-4.