Thursday, November 4, 2010

Faberge Eggs

I've always been fascinated with Russian Faberge eggs (House of Faberge). My favorite Feberge's are those dated back in the late 1800's (1885-1917). I would have loved to have seen Russia during the 1800's. Moscow and St. Petersburg must have been a sight to see under the Romanov's rule. The assassination of Nicholas II and his family has always intrigued me. Ever since I was a little girl I've always been fascinated with Russian history. The palaces and cities were once truly magnificent and now they are in such a sad state. However, Russia still has great musicians, artists, novelists, and athletes. It's a very interesting country.


Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his assassination in 1918. During his reign Russia was one of the greatest and powerful nations in the world but it's economy and military collapsed. Nicholas II approved the Russian mobilization of August 1914, that entered them into the fatal step into World War I. Less than four years later the Romanov's dynasty was assassinated during the Revolution of 1917. His wife, his son, four daughters, doctor, Tsar's valet, Empress' lady-in-waiting, and the family cook were all executed in the same room by the Bolsheviks one July night in 1918.



This is truly one of the most exciting historical stories in World History. I'm sure everyone remembers the Disney movie, Anastasia. Well, this was written after the Romanov family. Here is photograph of the real Anastasia and Rasputin.


Notice the Faberge Egg her grandmother gave her in the movie




Some of the most famous Faberge eggs were created for Nicholas II of Russia. Out of 50 eggs, only 42 survived. 8 eggs have been reported lost never to be seen again. There were two eggs that were never delivered because the Romanov family was assassinated that year in 1918.

The luxury eggs are made out of precious metals and stones. The Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs are regarded as the greatest series of Faberge Eggs in the world.





I found a rare picture of the Necessaire Egg. The Necessaire was one of the Tsar Imperial Faberge eggs. It is one of the fifty-two jeweled eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Faberge. The Necessaire was given to Alexander III who presented it to his wife, Maria Feodorovana in 1889. After the 1917 revolution that killed Nicholas II and his family, the egg was seized as the rest of the imperial eggs and has never been seen again. Some say that the eggs were sent to the Armory Palace in Kremlin. However, the whereabouts of the egg is unknown.

In March 2008, the British magazine Country Life identified the Necessaire egg in a photograph dated in 1949. A picture of the Necessaire didn't exist so this was big news. The photograph was taken at the Wartski's with Countess of Suffolk and Sacheverell Sitwell looking at a display. However, in the corner you will see the Necessaire Egg in a glass case. I doubt they had known they were only inches away from one of the most famous Faberge eggs in the world.


Inside is believed to hold a 13 diamond-encrusted woman's manicure set. Similar to this one but the egg has never been photographed so they used this egg as an example of what they think is inside. However, the 13 diamond-encrusted set must be out of this world in person.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful and very interesting post, I lake it!!!

Big kisses and hugs from Croatia.
Zondra Art

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

I love the history and the beauty of the Faberge eggs. I have several copies and they are true treasures to me. Not so much for their monitary value, but for their beauty. Thanks for the interesting post. Hugs, Marty

Ruth said...

The Russian empire history and Faberge Eggs.

Jill said...

These are really pretty and so ornate! I've seen them before but never really knew the story behind them. Interesting!

Michelle said...

Lovely!!! You find the most interesting things!

GamecockQueen said...

We must be on the same wavelength. Yesterday I was googling the Romanov family...I had to b/c they come up on one of the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books, in book 10. I recmmend the books, btw, they're super good.

I've always loved Faberge eggs too. Isn't it Risky Business where Tom Cruise's Mom has one? LOL