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Category: Faberge Egg History

Dec 18 2009

Faberge Egg History

Written By: Rachel G. Kaufman:

The Moscow Kremlin Egg, 1906

A Fabergé egg is any one of the thousands of jeweled eggs made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 through 1917. The majority of these were miniature. However, the most famous eggs produced by the House were the larger ones made for Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia. Of the 50 made, 42 have survived. The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term “Fabergé egg” has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweller’s art. The Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs are regarded as the last great series of commissions for objets d’art.

History

The most important feast of the Russian Orthodox church calendar is Easter. It is celebrated with the exchanging of eggs and three kisses. The Faberge eggs began in 1884 with an Easter egg made for the czar that became a gift for his wife, Czarina Maria. The egg reminded the empress of her homeland, and so from then on it was agreed that Faberge would make an Easter egg each year for Maria. Faberge designed Easter eggs for another eleven years until Alexander III died. Then Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, continued the tradition. It was agreed that the Easter gift would always have an egg shape and would hold a surprise. These projects became top priority of the company and were planned and worked on far in advance–a year or longer. The surprise was always kept secret.

The designs for the Imperial eggs were inspired by historical art works that Faberge imitated or copied from his travels or from the Hermitage. However, there is a poignant representation of what is now Russian history in the design of a number of these eggs. There were eggs to commemorate the coronation of Czar Nicholas II, the completion of the Trans Siberian Railway, and anniversaries. There were eggs depicting the Imperial yacht-Standart, the Uspensky Cathedral, the Gatchina Palace, and during the time of war, the Red Cross and the military.

Markings of the eggs included the stamp of the supervising goldsmith. Before 1903, that would be Michael Perchin (MP note: the “P” is the Russian “P”, which looks like two vertical lines joined together at the top, like the letter pi. ) for the Faberge eggs. After 1903, it would be Henrik Wigstrom (HW). Also there would be Russian assay marks. These would show the purity of the precious metal. Metal purity was measured in zolotniks. About 4 zolotniks equals one karat, so 14 karat gold= 56 zolotniks and 18 karat gold= 72 zolotinks. Sterling silver (.925 fine) would be 91 zolotniks. There would also be a stamp of the city or region of origin. For St. Petersburg, the symbol was crossed anchors and for Moscow, St. George and the Dragon. In 1896, Czar Nicholas II ’s reign saw a shift from localized marks to a national provenance mark, a woman wearing a kokoshnik.