Peter Carl Fabergé was a famous Russian jeweler born in St. Petersburg in 1846. Fabergé revolutionized the House of Fabergé, which he inherited from his father, turning it into one of the most notable jewelry Houses of the 19th century. His excellent and extensive education in goldsmithing and classical European art allowed Fabergé to turn his family business into one that is still considered one of the most influential jewelry houses in the world. Fabergé was able to create unprecedented master works–most notably his Fabergé eggs–that brought his company worldwide and decades long recognition.
Fabergé took over the family company after an eight-year long tour and education in Europe and a ten-year long apprenticeship under the House of Fabergé workmaster Hiskias Pendin. By this time he was considered a master jeweler and goldsmith at the age of 36. Not only was he immediately granted the title of master goldsmith at the House of Faberge, but he also had caught the eye of the Russian Imperial Family.
In 1885 at the age of 39, Fabergé was appointed to the Supplier to the Court of Tsar Alexander. In his new prestigious post, Fabergé was able to hone his craft and develop a personal style that is now so recognizably Fabergé. Instead of crafting traditional 18th century French-style jewels that were popular at the time, Fabergé was able to innovate his work by taking inspiration from the art work housed in the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, access which was not available to him before his appointment.
Shortly after Fabergé’s appointment, the Tsar commissioned him to create a precious Easter egg for his wife, Empress Maria. The first Fabergé egg was inspired by the tradition of giving out hand-dyed eggs on Easter, the most important holiday in the Russian Orthodox Church. This egg, however, was to be crafted out of precious metals and gemstones. Furthermore, there was to be surprised hidden somewhere in the egg. The first egg was called the Hen Egg. From the outside it looked like a regular egg with an opaque white shell, however on the inside of the egg was a solid yellow gold yolk that opened to reveal a gold hen, an egg shaped ruby, and a miniature diamond crown. This was the start of years-long annual tradition of the Tsar gifting the Tsarina priceless eggs crafted out of diamonds, pearls, platinum, and gold that housed surprises like a perfect ruby or a tiny carriage crafted out of gold.
After his first commissioning, Fabergé was given complete creative control of the Egg design and manufacturing process. The only requirement was that the eggs were made with precious materials and contained a surprise on the inside. For example, the Rose Trellis Egg, created in 1907, was made to look like a garden trellis adorned with roses, however the trellis was made out of rose-cut diamonds and the leaves were made out of emeralds. The surprise on the inside of the egg was a diamond pendant with a picture of the Tsar’s son Alexei. Due to the complex designs of the eggs and the incredible skill required to properly execute them, each egg took about a year of 16-hour work days to complete.
One of the most famous and valuable eggs is the Winter Egg. This egg was created in 1913 and was masterfully crafted out of diamonds, platinum and rock crystal. In 2002, the egg sold to a private buyer through Christies New York for $9.6 million US dollars. Most of the Imperial Eggs are still surviving, out of the 50 made, only seven have been lost. Many of the eggs are on view at the Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg, however, many have also been purchased by private collectors.
Citations:
http://www.faberge.com/news/49_imperial-eggs.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Carl_Faberg%C3%A9
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