The Winter Egg of the Romanovs, the Russian imperial family, considered one of the most beautiful pieces created by the great Russian jeweler Pierre-Karl Fabergé (1846-1920), was sold for nearly 22.9 million pounds almost 26 million euros) in London this Tuesday, announced Christie’s.
It establishes “a new world record for a work by Fabergé”, underlined Margo Oganesian, a manager of the auction house, in a press release.
“This finely carved rock crystal egg is delicately engraved inside with a frosted pattern. The exterior is adorned with platinum snowflakes set with rose-cut diamonds, and two vertical diamond-set platinum borders concealing a side hinge. It is topped with a cabochon moonstone dated “1913,” Christie’s explained in its catalog.
This unique work of art is composed of a rock crystal base, in the shape of a block of melting ice, is decorated with platinum fillets set with rose-cut diamonds and a platinum pin in the center which supports the egg.
A surprise egg
“The egg opens to reveal the ‘surprise’ hanging from a platinum hook: a double-handled platinum basket, decorated with a latticework and fully set with rose-cut diamonds, filled with finely carved white quartz wood anemones. Each flower has a gold wire stem and stamens, with the center set with a demantoid garnet. The leaves, delicately sculpted in nephrite, emerge from a bed of golden moss. The bottom of the basket is engraved “FABERGÉ 1913”, assures the sales room. The mythical object linked to the terrible fate of the Romanovs found a happy owner this evening.