Faberge Eggs

When we visited the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow, we had the opportunity to see Faberge eggs up close. Today these exquisite eggs are priceless masterpieces. They are truly beautiful!

They have a long history going back to 1885 when Alexander III commissioned Peter Carl Faberge to make an egg for his wife, Maria Fedorovna. It was a special Easter egg. It is one of the most important holidays on the Russian Orthodox calender. This specific egg was encrusted with precious stones and made in gold. It contained nested surprises as well.

1903 Faberge Egg

The “Hen Egg” opened to reveal a ruby contained in a small replica of a crown, which was then nestled in a gold chicken resting in a golden yolk. His wife was very impressed by this precious gift! Faberge eggs meant different things to different people. For collectors they are highly prized, precious and rare. For Stalin it was a reminder of Imperial excess. For the Russian Royal Family they were precious gifts commemorating Easter and an important family tradition.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNRvnxvbuRA&w=480&h=390]

When Alexander passed on in 1894, his son, Nicholas II, continued with the tradition. He had two eggs made, one for his mother and another for his German wife, Alexandra Fedorovna. The Faberge´s workshop continued to produce masterpiece eggs until 1917, when he was forced to flee Russia when the Tsar and his family were murdered.

The Alexander egg when opened

The ones produced over the years depicted a different theme or event in Russia´s history. An example was the Tsarevich egg of 1912 which honored the male heir to the Romanov throne. This egg opened to reveal a portrait of the Russian prince. There are also eggs that represent the Kremlin, the royal yacht, palaces and even the Trans-Siberian Railway!

Sadly when the royal palace was plundered, the Bolsheviks packed up the eggs and sold them to collectors abroad. During this chaotic period, many of the eggs and their contents were lost. Today these eggs can be seen in private collections and museums around the world.

The Moscow Kremlin Egg