Top 10 | Beautiful and Expensive Imperial Egg of Russia from the House of Faberge

[Music] in 1885 Czar Alexander the third landed on the perfect Easter gift for his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna a bespoke egg Commission from Peter Carl Faberge a master Goldsmith of the jewelry company house of fabergé the hen egg was a simple wide enamel egg that twisted apart to reveal the golden yolk the yolk opened to show a golden hen and in the hen was a diamond crown and a tiny Ruby pendant the materials were costly but the magical surprise was priceless the Empress was so delighted that the Tsar gave a royal order to the house of fabergé and from that year forward the opulent eggs were made for the Russian Court every Easter his son nicholas ii continued the tradition giving one egg to his mother and one to his wife Alexandra every year each more elaborate than the last the Faberge eggs are world renowned today synonymous with the Romanovs lavish lifestyle but at the time hardly anyone outside the royal court knew they existed during the bolsheviks february revolution the eggs were taken from the palace and carefully packed and stashed at the Kremlin in Moscow the Russian government later sold many of them when it ran low on funds although there are believed to be close to 70 eggs created today only 46 Imperial eggs and 11 other eggs are known to survive in today's video we are going to look at ten beautifully crafted Faberge eggs and understand why they are special and expensive so let's begin the standart yad egg is a jeweled easter egg made for tsar nicholas ii of russia in 1909 it was presented by nicholas ii as an Easter gift to his wife that Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna it is a transparent hollowed-out rock crystal egg mounted horizontally with a gold band with Inlet leaves of green enamel and small diamonds marking the separation point between upper and lower halves which bears the inscription standart 1909 the standart was commissioned by Tsar Alexander the third in Copenhagen it was launched in 1895 and was 116 meters long which made it the largest yacht in the world at that time the standart yacht egg is currently held in the Kremlin armory Museum in Moscow and it is one of the few Faberge eggs that have never left Russia the ninth on our list is Peter the great egg made in 1903 by Faberge made in the Rococo style the Peter the great egg celebrated the 200th anniversary of the founding of st. Petersburg in 1703 it is made of red green and yellow gold platinum rose cut diamonds rubies enamel rock crystal and miniature watercolor portraits on ivory the eggshell features four miniature watercolors painted by B buyouts the paintings representing the before and after of st. Petersburg in 1703 and 1903 the front painting features the extravagant Winter Palace the official residence of nicholas ii 200 years after the founding of st. petersburg opposite this on the back of the egg is a painting of the log cabin believed to be built by peter the great himself representative of the founding of st. petersburg on the banks of the neva river the surprise is that when the egg is opened a mechanism within raises a miniature gold model of peter the great's monument on the neva resting on a base of sapphire the model was made by jiajia militiamen the reason for this choice of surprise is the story of a legend from the 19th century that says enemy forces will never take st. Petersburg while the bronze horseman stands in the middle of the city the Peter the Great egg was sold in 1930 to Armand Hammer an American entrepreneur who had business interests in Russia it was later bought by a leviair se New York City in 1944 it was purchased by Lilly and proud of Fredericksburg Virginia and bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1947 it remains on permanent view in their European decorative art collection the 8th on our list is the Kachina palace egg it is a jeweled enameled Easter egg made in 1901 nicholas ii presented it to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna at Easter in 1901 the egg opens to reveal a surprise miniature gold replica of the Palace at Cucina a town south of st. Petersburg that was built for count Grigory Orlov and was later acquired by Tsar Paul the first the egg was created by Faberge work master Mikhail of lamp of its Perkin and the detail of the Kachina palace egg is stunning at a mere three inches tall the canons windows trees and flag of the palace are clearly distinguishable the exterior of the egg is skillfully crafted of gold enamel silver gilt diamonds rock crystal and seat pearls these precious materials are individually treasured but using them together to create a single object makes them priceless however what makes the Faberge egg so valuable is not the monetary price of the materials but the skill and mastery of craftsmanship used to create it in 1920 the egg was in the possession of Alexander Koloff sauvé who was a former employee at the Kachina palace and later started an antique shop in Paris it is not known how Mr pallava acquired the egg in 1930 this egg was sold along with the 1907 Rose trellis egg to American Henry Walters and became a part of the Walters Art Museum collection in 1931 in 1936 the egg was exhibited with the Rose trellis egg at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore Maryland and it has been on permanent display since 1952 before the fall he celebrated the 15th anniversary of his rule Faberge would commemorate this historic moment with a distinctive egg ever if there is one Imperial Easter gift that definitively demonstrates a close link between Faberge and the Czar it is the 15th anniversary egg presented to Alexandra in 1911 it celebrates Nicholas the second decade and a half on the throne the egg is made of gold green and white enamel decorated with diamonds and rock crystal the surface is divided into 18 panels set with 16 miniatures the miniatures are painted on ivory by artist Vasily Zayed from photographs and drawings at the time among the nine views of places and events associated with Nicholas's reign are the coronation procession the coronation ceremony the opening of the state duma a legislative body the alexander the third bridge in Paris and the canonization of st. Sarafine to whom Alexandra prayed for a son the eggs incredibly detailed artwork is all the more impressive when one realizes that these panels are each less than two inches across the egg is evidence that Nicholas has much to celebrate in 1911 there is no surprise in the egg contrary to the Tsar's explicit instructions with regard to these eggs and without explanation apparently none was ever made it was owned by Malcolm Forbes in the Forbes collection Viktor Vekselberg purchased nine Imperial eggs as part of the collection for almost 100 million dollars it is estimated that the individual egg costs ten million dollars to fifteen million dollars the egg is now part of the Viktor Vekselberg collection owned by the link of times foundation and housed in the Faberge Museum in Saint Petersburg Russia the third Imperial egg is an Easter Faberge egg created in the workshop of Peter Carl Faberge for the Russian Tsar Alexander the third and presented to his wife Maria Feodorovna an Orthodox Easter of 1887 the egg was created in louis xvi style and it consists of a solid 18k gold read a case resting on a gold annulus ring with waveform decorations held up by three sets of quarter lakh legs which end in Lions paws joining these legs are festoons of roses and leaves made in a variety of colored gold alloys and joined in the middle of each side by matching oval cabbage and sapphires above each sapphire is a gold bow decorated with a series of tiny diamonds and the front of the egg has a single much larger diamond in an old mine diamond clasp which when pressed releases the eggs lit to reveal its surprise the egg was lost for many years but was rediscovered in 2012 the rediscovery of this egg was announced publicly and covered in many news stories in 2014 scrap metal fine turns out to be 33 million dollar Faberge golden egg as the title on the news article and a holy grail of art and antiques found warts key bought the egg on behalf of a Faberge collector who allowed the firm to exhibit the piece for the first time in 112 years in April 2014 as evidence of its journey the egg has several scratches on it where the metal was tested for its gold content by prospective buyers the new buyer thought they enhanced the piece because they are part of its history perhaps the most sumptuous Easter gift ever given as the winter Easter egg presented by tsar nicholas ii to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1913 the exquisite Faberge winter egg was the rarest and most expensive produced by the Imperial jeweller the egg is made of transparent rock crystal delicately engraved on the inside to recreate the effect of ice crystals and contains a surprise its exterior is encrusted with 3,000 diamonds set in platinum and the whole thing rests on a detachable rock crystal base carved to represent a block of melting ice set with rose diamond regulates inside the hidden surprise is a delicate trellis work-basket fashioned in platinum and filled with a tiny bouquet of flowers carved from white quartz and set with green garnet hearts the winter theme for the jewel gift came from Faberge designer on the pill she had been inspired by the sight of sunlight shining through the frosty windows of the workshop for a series of pieces undertaken immediately prior to the Imperial egg commissioned the egg left Russia after the Revolution and ended up in the collection of mr. Brian led Brook it was first sold at auction in 1994 at Christie's in Geneva for 5.6 million dollars the world record at that time for a Faberge item sold at auction the eggs sold for nine point six million dollars in an auction at Christie's in New York City in 2002 it was reported that the buyer was Hamad bin Khalifa al-thani the Emir of Qatar the current value of the winter egg on the market was estimated to be 60 million dollar way back in 2017 the 12 monograms egg also known as the Alexander the 3rd portraits egg is an Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweler Peter Carl Faberge in 1896 for tsar nicholas ii of russia it was presented by nicholas ii to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna the egg was the second Faberge egg ever given by nicholas ii to his mother as an Easter present this egg is one of four commemorating Tsar Alexander the third the other three are the missing Empire nephrite 1902 and Alexander the third commemorative 1909 eggs and the Alexander the third equestrian egg 1910 an allegedly missing Faberge egg known from its description as the Alexander the third portraits egg was previously thought to be the Imperial Easter egg from 1895 in the maria feodorovna series however following the 2012 rediscovery of the 1887 third Imperial egg which was announced to the world in March 2014 and the reassignment of the Blue serpent clock egg as the 1895 Imperial Easter egg it became clear that the missing Imperial Easter egg identified in the series as the Alexander the third portraits egg must be the extant 12 monograms egg of 1896 currently the egg is held at the hillwood Museum in Washington DC and third on our list is the beautiful peacock egg commissioned in 1908 it is a jewel and rock crystal Easter egg made by dorofyev under the supervision of the Russian jeweler Peter Carl Faberge the transparent egg is compost of rock crystal and gilt silver wire and is quite simple in style the genius of the egg lay in its surprise the egg is held together by a clasp at the top and when opened falls into two halves each with a Rococo style mount inside the egg sits a small 110 millimeters 4.3 in long mechanical gold an enameled peacock in the branches of an engraved gold tree with flowers made of enamel and precious stones the peacock can be lifted from within the tree and wound up placed on a flat surface it struts around moving its head and spreads and closes his enamel tail dura fiev the fabergé work master reportedly worked on the peacock and it's prototypes for three years the peacock egg was inspired by the 18th century peacock clock made by James Cox the clock was a present from Grigory Potemkin to Catherine the Great the peacock clock was housed in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg Russia which is now the Hermitage Museum in 1927 the peacock egg was sold with nine other Imperial eggs by the antiquaria to Emmanuel snowman of warts key in London bought by mr. Hearst in 1935 it was sold to dr. Maurice Ando's of Switzerland in 1949 and donated in 1955 to his foundation at war debt Maurice and OHS in Lausanne Switzerland since its purchased by Sandoz it has only been seen publicly six times the last time in 2009 the mosaic egg is a jeweled enameled Easter egg crafted by Albert Holmstrom under the supervision of Peter Carl Faberge and is made of yellow gold platinum brilliant diamonds Rose cut diamonds ruby emerald topaz sapphire garnet half pearls moonstone wide enamel and opaque pink enamel it consists of a series of yellow gold belts which are paved set with diamonds and a variety of gems in a floral pattern providing a look of petit point tapestry work the pattern of the egg contains five oval panels bordered by half pearl set in enamel with brilliant diamonds placed at each intersection the technical precision of the design was complemented by platinum that was cut rather than welded at the apex of the egg is a moonstone through which can be seen the year 1914 and Empress Alexandra 's initials in Russian characters the surprise is a removable miniature frame with relief profiles of Nicholas and Alexandra is five children in a cameo brooch style the back of the frame is enameled with a sepia basket of flowers the floral tapestry pattern was designed by Alma therasia Pill who was inspired by needlework fire screens found in the Resta Craddock sitting rooms of the time pill was the niece of the eggs work master Albert Holmstrom who came from a family of finished jewelers employed by Faberge currently the mosaic egg remains a part of the Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth and was included in a public display from July to October 2011 and the exhibit Royal Faberge during the summer opening of Buckingham Palace and first on our list is the imperial coronation egg commissioned in 1897 to commemorate Sarina Empress Alexandra Feodorovna the egg is made from gold with translucent lime yellow enamel on a guilloche field of starbursts and is in reference to the cloth of gold robe worn by the Serena to coronation it is trellised with bands of greenish gold laurel leaves mounted at each intersection by a gold Imperial double-headed eagle enameled opaque black and set with a rose diamond on its chest this pattern was also drawn from the coronation robe worn by the Empress fitted inside a velvet lined compartment is a precise replica less than four inches long of the 18th century imperial coach that carried Tsarina Alexandra to her coronation at Moscow suspense key Cathedral the red color of the original coach was recreated using strawberry colored translucent enamel and the blue upholstery of the interior was also reproduced in enamels the coaches surmounted by the imperial crown in Rose diamonds and six double-headed Eagles on the roof it is fitted with engraved rock crystal windows and platinum tires decorated with a diamond set trellis and gold and an imperial eagle and diamonds at either door missing surprises include an emerald or diamond pendant that hung inside the replica coach a glass-enclosed jadeite stand for the display of the carriage as well as a stand made of silver gilt wire the egg is currently owned by one of the Russian oligarchs Fichter Vekselberg and lends it to the hermitage museum specifically the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg Russia where it originally belongs the 1918 after the death of the Romanovs the house of fabergé was nationalized and ransacked by the Bolsheviks Faberge and members of his family left Russia on what was to be the last diplomatic train to Riga not realizing that they would never be able to return to their beloved Russia again according to author cheese of von Habsburg when Faberge saw that all was lost all of the members of the imperial family on Russian soil had been murdered he decided that was it his whole world had collapsed and he fled to Switzerland where he died in 1920 of I would say a broken heart there were thousands of Faberge pieces in the palaces of the Romanovs most now scattered across faraway lands in the many collections around the world now of the 50 Imperial eggs made only ten remain in the Kremlin eight Imperial eggs are still missing the excess of the eggs and their seclusion from the public reflect the elitist out-of-touch final years of Czarist Russia they may be masterpieces route faber but they also embody extravagance that even the Romanovs most ardent supporter would find hard to justify [Music] you

Channel: Andrew Pidor

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Keywords: faberge, imperial eggs, beautifull, expensive, rare, top 10, luxury, jewels, russia, romanov, third imperial egg, history, amazing, diamonds, sapphire, ruby, gold, jewel, emerald, luxurious, collection, beautiful, rich, millioner, graff, necklace, ring, bracelet, brooch, pink, yellow, yellow diamond, expensive jewel, earring, easter egg

Id: focZlCUp5c0

Length: 17min 50sec (1070 seconds)

Published: Fri May 15 2020