艺术导赏

This egg was commissioned by Tzar Nicholas II as a gift to his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna who was a German princess before married to the Tzar. In the middle, you see the symbol of the most important Russian Orthodox church, the Cathedral of the Assumption, where all the Russian Tsars married and coronated.  The shining onion shape golden dome symbolized the Tzar’s power in Russia. In reality, the dome of the Cathedral as we see now in Moscow is covered in thin layers of real gold.

Faberge’s craftsmanship and attention to details are best demonstrated by how he made the interior of the cathedral.  If you take a close look and peek through one of the windows, you can see the interior decoration of the cathedral, the lights, the colorful windows, etc.

The egg stand is made like the Kremlin wall using rose gold and what amazes us is that inside is a mechanical music box that still can play music after winding with the key. What’s the music? It’s traditional Easter hymns by A.D. Kastalsky

Did Faberge make any eggs for others?

Faberge made four exceptions because the eggs are for the Tzars only. He made large eggs with surprise inside for four other clients. These clients were world elite. For example, one egg was made for the oil industrialist Nobel, the one who love to buy Faberge’s figurines. The only egg that was made for a non-Russian person, was the one made for the Duchess of Marlborough, from a rich family in America.  And he also produced seven eggs for a rich Russian lady, from a merchant family, Varvara Kelch.  Faberge was busy making eggs for the imperial family, making one egg each year at first and then 2 eggs each year for both the dowager and for the Tzarina.  But he still found time to make eggs for his four other clients. So Faberge completed a total of fifty eggs for the imperial family and 10 eggs for these elite clients.