Fabergé egg made for mother of Russia’s last tsar sells for £23m | Art
A jeweled vintage Fabergé egg that belonged to the mother of Russia’s last emperor was sold for a record £22.9 million in London.
The winter egg was introduced to Emperor II in 1913. It was commissioned by Nicholas as an Easter gift to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Fabergé’s imperial works.
Peter Carl Fabergé is considered the greatest Russian jeweler of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection of royal artifacts were personal gifts owned by the Russian, Danish and British royal families.
The winter egg is a rock crystal with an ice pattern engraved on the inside, while the outside features rose-cut diamond-set platinum snowflake motifs.
It sold for £22,895,000 on Tuesday, beating the auction world record for Fabergé. The previous record was set in 2007 when a Rothschild egg was sold for £8.9 million.
The auction marked the third time the Winter egg has set a record price for a Fabergé piece, according to Christie’s. It was sold many times because it attracted the attention of historical collectors.
After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the egg was taken from St Petersburg to the Kremlin armory in Moscow, along with other valuables of the royal family.
In the 1920s, the Soviet government began selling art treasures from the Hermitage Museum and other collections, often at prices well below their value. It was later purchased by Wartski of London and sold to a British collector for £1,500 in 1934.
The egg was believed to be missing for two decades, between 1975 and 1994, before being sold at Christie’s for £6.8 million. Eight years later in 2002 the auction house sold it again for £7.1 million.
Margo Oganesian, head of Christie’s Fabergé and Russian art department, said: “Christie’s is honored to be tasked with the sale of Fabergé’s exquisite Winter egg for the third time in our history.
“Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring importance of this masterpiece and celebrating the rarity and brilliance of what is widely recognized as one of Fabergé’s finest creations, both technically and artistically.
“With only a handful of imperial Easter eggs remaining in private hands, this was an extraordinary and historic opportunity for collectors to acquire a work of unique significance.”
