Russian Imperial Easter Eggs

Author: Linda DeLaine
Website: RL Online
Department:
Page: 1   ( 1) pages

Summary: Skilled craftsman, Carl Fabergé, and his unsurpassed eggs which were presented to the Tsar's family each Easter.

Peter Carl Fabergé was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1846. He was of Huguenot descent and was educated in England, Germany, Italy and France. At age 24, in 1870, he inherited his father's, Gustav Fabergé, jewelry making business. This business had been started by Gustav in 1842, just prior to Carl's birth. It rapidly gained international fame for its unique decorative art designs and was heavily patronized by the wealthy and royal familes of Europe. Eventually, war brought an end to the Fabergé business, in Russia. Carl died in 1920 and the business was moved to Switzerland.

Carl Fabergé created the unique production system of workmasters. The current authorized workmaster is Victor Mayer. Workmasters during Carl's time were Erik August Kollin (1870-1886), Michael Evlampiewitsch Perchin (1886-1903) and Henrik Emanuel Wigström (1903-1917).

Most of the world knows Fabergé best for the Imperial Easter Eggs. The first such egg was presented to the Tzarina , wife of Tsar Alexander III, in1885. It was Alexander III who honored Fabergé with the title and position of official Imperial Court Goldsmith, in 1882. This tradition continued after Alexander III's death and until 1916 with an egg being presented, annually, to the Dowager Empress (Tsar Nicholas II's mother) and the Tsarina Alexandra. In 1897, Fabergé became the official Court Goldsmith for Sweden and Norway. Three Imperial Easter Eggs were displayed, for the first time, in 1900 at the World's Fair in Paris. Fabergé's company was shut down by the Bolsheviks, in 1918, and Carl moved to Lausanne. He died there, September 24, 1920.

Many years passed without a Fabergé shop or creation. The children and grandchildren of Carl tried in vain, failing due to lack of experience in the art. Finally, a qualified Fabergé workmaster was found, in 1989. Victor Mayer became the official, authorized Fabergé workmaster and remains so to this day. This event has created a renewed interest and fascination in the Fabergé style. The new Mayer collection of Fabergé art was unveiled in 1990 at Palais Montgelas, in Munich. Former Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, received his own egg when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 1991. The 150th anniversary of Peter Carl Fabergé's birth was celebrated with five new and original eggs, created by Mayer (1996). The eggs are currently displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.

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