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Fabergé egg

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The Moscow Kremlin egg, 1906

A Fabergé egg is any one of fifty (fifty-two, including the unfinished Karelian Birch and Tsarevich Constellation examples) Easter eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917. The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé Egg"' has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweler's art.

Overview

Fabergé and his goldsmiths designed and constructed the first egg in 1885. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III of Russia as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna.[citation needed] On the outside it looked like a simple egg of white enamelled gold, but it opened up to reveal a golden yolk. The yolk itself had a golden hen inside it, which in turn had a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside, reminiscent of the matryoshka nesting dolls. bla-bla-bla

Maria was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a "Court Supplier" and commissioned an Easter gift each year thereafter, stipulating only that it be unique and contain a surprise. Nicholas II continued the tradition, expanding it to include an annual gift for his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna as well as his now-widowed mother.

As the House of Fabergé prospered (due in no small part to the cachet of imperial patronage), the preparation of the eggs came to take up an entire year; once a concept was chosen, a team of artisans worked to assemble the project.

The themes and appearance of the eggs varied widely. For instance, on the outside, the Trans-Siberian railway Egg of 1900 was dominated by a dull metallic gray band with a map of the railway's route, but inside it had an entire tiny train in gold.

Fifty-seven eggs were produced in all. The Order of St. George Egg left Russia with Maria Fyodorovna in 1918, but the rest, forgotten in the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, remained. Several disappeared in the looting, and the rest were boxed up in the vaults of the Kremlin. In and after 1930, Stalin sold fourteen to raise cash, some for as little as US$400 [citation needed]. Many of these were bought by Armand Hammer and Emmanuel Snowman of Wartski, the English Fabergé dealers.

Bouquet of Lilies or Madonna Lily Egg

As of 2006, just twenty-one eggs were still in Russia, most on display at the Kremlin Armory Museum. Nine eggs were purchased by Viktor Vekselberg in February 2004 from the Forbes family in New York City. The Vekselberg collection arrived in Russia in July 2004. Smaller collections are in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, New Orleans Museum of Art, and other museums around the world. Four eggs are in private collections, and eight are still missing.

In modern times Victor Mayer, the inheritor of the Fabergé brand, creates "Fabergé eggs" that are inspired by the originals.

Remaining eggs

42 eggs are still known to exist.

List of Fabergé eggs


  • 'Alexander III Equestrian' Egg
    'Alexander III Equestrian' Egg
  • The Memory of Azov Egg
    The Memory of Azov Egg
  • The Twelve Monograms Egg
    The Twelve Monograms Egg
  • The Peter The Great Egg
    The Peter The Great Egg

Movies

The Simpsons

  • Mr. Burns has about 12 Fabergé eggs stashed away in a vault in his basement in an episode of The Simpsons, and Marge steals one to help raise money for charity, by hiding it in her trademark blue hair.
  • In "'Round Springfield", Bleeding Gums Murphy recounts how he used all of the money earned from his success on his $1500 a day Fabergé egg habit. A reluctant egg salesman angers Bleeding Gums, who retorts, "I'll tell you when I've had enough!"
  • Kearney in the episode "The Joy of Sect" discovers a case of Fabergé eggs at Springfield Airport when he and Jimbo Jones and Dolph each steal a suitcase. It is not known if these are part of Mr. Burns' collection as referenced above. Kearney refers to them as a "bunch of fruity Easter eggs" and later smashes one of them, confirming his comment.

Other Television

  • An episode of Out of This World depicted Uncle Beano demonstrating one of the artifacts to Evie. "This is your grandmother's priceless Faberge egg." he proclaims, and clumsily drops it. "Now it's her priceless Faberge omelett."
  • An episode of Jimmy Neutron depicted Jimmy breaking into a museum replacing the egg with an identical fake.
  • In an episode of Fairly Odd Parents, "Pipe Down", Timmy Turner wishes that the whole world was mute. During the episode, he knocks over a bookcase, and a bowling ball from the top of the bookcase comes rolling towards several display cases lined up in his living room. They fall down in a domino style chain reaction, and a Faberge egg and other artifacts inside are destroyed.
  • Comedian Jimmy Fallon says "they" should use bald eagle heads and Faberge Eggs as an alternative fuel in an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Video games

  • In the LucasArts game The Curse of Monkey Island, the protagonist, Guybrush Theepwood, finds a Fabergé egg in the stomach of a constrictor snake which has swallowed him. Collecting the item is a futile task, however; he promptly loses it when he is spit out by the constrictor, falls into a quicksand pit, and has all the items in his pants, egg included, sucked out by the quicksand.
  • In the Japanese video game Shadow Hearts: Covenant the playable character Princess Anastasia Romanov fights with a Fabergé egg.

Music

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fabergé eggs.
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