Fabergé eggs are jeweled eggs created by the House of Fabergé, in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia. Experts say that there were around 69 eggs, of which 57 survive today. They were all manufactured under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé between 1885 and 1917, made for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers.
Faberge eggs may be Easter’s most elegant and mystic decorations ever created. The first Faberge egg was ordered by Czar Alexander III as an Easter gift for Czarina Maria, who was her wife.
With Bolsheviks seizing St. Petersburg, the Romanov family’s rule came to a very violent end, leaving those eggs as lavish reminders of the dynasty’s reign. These eggs are considered to be very important for decorative art history. The number of Fabergé’s imperial eggs was 50, of which 43 survive in private collections and museums.
Alexander III died in 1894, but his son Tsar Nicholas II maintains the tradition to commission eggs. Moreover, he raised the stakes by commissioning two eggs per year, one for his mother and one for his wife. The eggs were each entirely unique and made of different materials. They range in size and design, in color and mood. They sometimes hide surprises inside and sometimes they hide nothing. Each egg requires one year of work and sometimes even two. Apart from being lavish and extraordinary, those eggs are created by taking into consideration their connection to Romanov family’s personal lives. For example, some of the eggs have tiny family portraits on them.
Some of the eggs were showcased at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900. House of Fabergé had some kind of magic and people were already very fascinated with those eggs. The name Fabergé is still a strong statement today.
