Growing up with Roman Catholic Easter traditions left me
greatly confused about the whole Easter egg thing. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE
chocolate! But as a kid, I failed to see the correlation between the brightly
colored eggs and the resurrection of Christ. It would only be later in life
that I would understand that other denominations of Christianity saw eggs as a symbol
of rebirth and in turn the resurrection. Over the course of centuries, Orthodox
Christians would offer eggs to their loved ones; evolving from humble painted
wooden eggs, to glass and even porcelain. For those who would
attend the courts of Eastern Europe, this tradition would develop into an
increasingly bejeweled phenomenon and no offering was more intricate and
astounding than that of the Russian Czars.
In keeping with Russian royal splendor, the Czar Alexander III originally commissioned
Peter Carl Fabergé to create an jeweled egg for his
wife the Empress Maria Feodorovna as a gift for Easter. Each year, she would be presented with a new
creation. Upon the death of the Czar, his son Nicholas II would take up the
tradition, offering an egg not only for the Dowager Empress Maria, but also for
his own wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In total, 50 eggs were created,
though only 43 have survived.
Since we are enjoying our own Easter weekend, we wanted to share some of our personal favorites of this famed collection.
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The Imperial Revolving Miniatures Egg. Photo courtesy of Katherine Wetzel/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts via www.faberge.com |
The Imperial Revolving Miniatures Egg made in 1896 for Empress Alexandra is an
earlier example of Fabergé’s creations; it is nonetheless incredibly ornate.
This egg is made of rock crystal (crystalline quartz) and is held together by a
band of enamel that is encrusted with rose-cut diamonds. Atop this egg sits a
27 carat Siberian emerald cabochon. The base, though primarily enameled, also consists of numerous rows of rose-cut diamonds. The surprise, though not as
secret as usual (given the transparency of the shell) is a set of 12 miniature
paintings of all of the Empress’ favorite places.
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The Imperial Winter Egg. Photo courtesy of www.christies.com |
The Imperial Winter Egg, prepared for
the Dowager Empress Maria in 1913 is a lovely and seemingly simple design,
using a rock crystal base formed to look like ice on which
a detachable egg sits. This egg is made of carved translucent rock crystal and platinum
and is appropriately “frosted” with rose-cut diamonds and a moonstone. Within the egg, a basket
of flowers representing the return of spring is made of quartz and gold and is
bejeweled in rose-cut diamonds, demantoid garnets and nephrite.
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The Imperial Mosaic Egg. Photo courtesy of www.faberge.com |
The Imperial Mosaic Egg, created for Easter 1914 as a gift to Empress Alexandra is very
much a feast for the eyes for the gem enthusiast. Presently part of the private collection
of Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II, this egg is made of both gold and platinum. The inner and outer faces of the shell are completely incrusted with
countless gems including diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topaz, sapphires and demantoid garnets. What is especially remarkable about
this egg is that each gemstone was cut in accordance to the curvatures
of the egg shell, creating an "invisible setting" so to speak.
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The Fabergé Pearl Egg. Photo courtesy of www.faberge.com |
I’d like to finish off this post with the latest addition to the Fabergé
Imperial Egg family which truly represents the spirit of rebirth. Fittingly,
this egg made in collaboration with the Al-Fardan family will be the first of
this caliber to be created since the last Romanov egg was delivered nearly a
century ago. With an exterior made of mother of pearl and lavishly decorated with
over 100 natural pearls and over 3000 diamonds (set in yellow and white gold),
this egg aptly illustrates the intricacy that the Fabergé house is renowned
for. Inside the egg, a 12.17 carat grey pearl from the Arabian Gulf is revealed, truly
showcasing the “jewels of the sea” which have only recently experienced a
revival.
Do you have a decorated egg? If so, send us a pic, we'd love to see it!