Fabergé, Peter Carl

Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920, Russian goldsmith and jeweler, b. St. Petersburg. Sometimes described as a latter-day Cellini, he was descended from Huguenots and inherited (1870) his father Gustave's jewelry firm in his native city. The business flourished under the younger Fabergé's direction, expanding to include the creation of precious objects in gold, silver, vermeil, enamelwork, and gems. By 1906 there were branches in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Kiev, and London, and the firm employed well over 500. Favorites of the aristocracy, Fabergé and his studio became particularly known for their opulent, intricate, and ingenious Easter eggs, which were often used as gifts by czars Alexander III and Nicholas II. The Russian Revolution meant the downfall of such lavish artistry, however gorgeously wrought; the Fabergé business was nationalized in 1917 and closed the following year. Fabergé himself fled to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he soon died.

The Peter the Great Egg is a jewelled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1903, for the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II.

Tsar Nicholas presented the egg to his wife, the Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. The egg is currently located at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia.

Craftsmanship

Made in the Rococo style, this egg celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703.

Executed in gold, the curves are set with diamonds and rubies. The body of the egg is covered in laurel leaves and bulrushes that are chased in 14-carat green gold. These symbolize the source of the "living waters". The spikyheads are set with square rubies. The egg shell features four miniatures by B. Baal that show Peter the Great, the wooden hut that is traditionally said to have been built by himself, Nicholas II and the 1000 room Winter Palace. Each of the miniatures is covered by rock crystal. White enamel ribbons inscribed with historical details encircle the egg. The inscriptions read "The Emperor Peter the Great, born in 1672, founding St. Petersburg in 1703" and "The first little house of the Emperor Peter the Great in 1703". "The Emperor Nicholas II born in the 1868 ascended the throne in 1894" and "The Winter Palace of His Imperial Majesty in 1903."

The dates 1703 and 1903 appear on either side of the lid.

Surprise

The surprise is that when the egg is opened, a mechanism within raises a miniature gold model of Peter the Great's monument on the Neva, resting on a base of sapphire. The model was made by Gerogii Malychevin. The reason for this choice of surprise is the story of a legend from the 19th century that says enemy forces will never take St. Petersburg while the "Bronze Horseman" stands in the middle of the city.

See also

• Fabergé egg
• Egg decorating

External links

• A detailed article on the 'Peter the Great' egg