May 30th:Fabergé Eggs

This date was the birtdate of Peter Carl Fabergé in 1846, creator of Fabergé eggs, elaborately decorated and extremely valuable eggs. 10 facts about Fabergé eggs:

1. The whole thing started when Tsar Alexander III decided he wanted to give his wife, Empress Maria, an Easter Egg in 1885, and commissioned Fabergé to produce one. This one, known as the "Hen Egg" was made from gold. The outer shell was enamelled in white. Inside, a yellow gold yolk opened to reveal a multicoloured golden hen. Inside this was a tiny replica of the imperial crown made from diamonds, with a small ruby pendant.
2. Empress Maria loved it, and so Alexander appointed Fabergé as "goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown" and commissioned an Easter egg most years after that. His son, Nicholas II, continued the tradition. He would have two made - one for his wife and one for his mother.
3. 65 eggs are known to have been produced. 57 have survived to the present day, but there are photographs of some of the missing ones.
4. The imperial eggs were quite famous, and 14 were made for other private (and rich) clients, the Rothschild family and the Duchess of Marlborough among them.
5. In the run up to Easter, the form that year's egg would take was a closely guarded secret. Even the Tsar would have no idea. The only requirement was that every one had a surprise inside.
6. It all came to an end with the Russian Revolution. The major clients were killed, and the Fabergé company was nationalised. The Fabergé family fled to Switzerland.
7. In 1927, Stalin had many of the eggs sold off so he could get his hands on foreign currency.
8. The most expensive of the eggs is called the Rothschild Egg, made in 1902 for Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, as an engagement gift for her brother's fiancée. It was also a clock, and every hour, a diamond studded cockerel would pop up out of the top of the egg, flap its wings, nod its head and crow for fifteen seconds. It was sold in 2007 at Christie's, for £8.9 million, which made it a record breaker three times over. Not only was it the most expensive Fabergé egg ever, but also the most expensive timepiece and the most expensive Russian object. The buyer was Alexander Ivanov, the director of the Russian National Museum.
9. Since the Russian Revolution, the largest number of Fabergé eggs to be together in one place was 26 - in 1989, when the eggs were loaned for an exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art.
10. Carl Fabergé was known for his wit and for not suffering fools gladly. On one occasion, a foppish prince was boasting to Fabergé about an honour he had received from the Tsar, saying that he had no idea what the award was for. Instead of congratulating the prince as expected, Fabergé replied, ‘Indeed, your Highness, I too have no idea what for’.