The Ornamented Being
Ornamented: -verb: Adorn; beautify. Be·ing: -noun: Fulfillment of possibilities; essential completeness.
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“ There are three things I love about Russia,” says Lagerfeld, ”Catherine the Great and Faberge, Russian constructivist art, and Russian folklore. I really enjoyed combining all of these in the ‘Paris-Moscow’ collection.”
“The first Fabergé egg was crafted for Tsar Alexander III, who decided to give his wife, the Empress Maria Fedorovna, an Easter Egg in 1885, possibly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their betrothal. It is believed that the Tsar’s inspiration for the piece was an egg owned by the Empress’s aunt, Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Denmark, which had captivated Maria’s imagination in her childhood. Known as the Hen Egg, it is crafted from gold. Its opaque white enameled ‘shell’ opens to reveal its first surprise, a matte yellow gold yolk. This in turn opens to reveal a multi-coloured gold hen that also opens. It contains a minute diamond replica of the Imperial Crown from which a small ruby pendant was suspended. Unfortunately, these last two surprises have been lost.
Empress Maria was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a ‘goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’. He commissioned another egg the following year. After that, Peter Carl Fabergé, who headed the House, was apparently given complete freedom for future Imperial Easter Eggs, as from this date their designs become more elaborate. According to the Fabergé family tradition, not even the Czar knew what form they would take: the only requirement was that each one should contain a surprise. Following the death of Alexander III on November 1, 1894, his son presented a Fabergé egg to both his wife, the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, and to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna.”
_ Via Wiki who puts it best
The Rose Trellis (first) is one of my absolute favorites!
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Empress Josephine Tiara
“This diamond tiara was created by Fabergé c. 1890. The stunning briolette diamonds were a gift from Tsar Alexander I given to the Empress Josephine after she was divorced from Napoleon Bonaparte. This piece is one of only a few tiaras ever made by Fabergé.”
Here is another article with the price it sold for: ”A diamond tiara, made by Fabergé in 1895, went for £1.05 million to an anonymous buyer at Christie’s in London. It was among £1.7 million of jewellery sold by Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, 67, the daughter of the last King of Italy, Umberto II. The centrepiece was the tiara known as the Empress Josephine tiara because it contains pear-shaped or teardrop diamonds given by Tsar Alexander I to the Empress Josephine. It was estimated to fetch £390,000.”
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Romanov Tercentenary Egg
The Tsar had it made for his wife.
“The Romanov Tercentenary Egg is made of gold, silver, rose-cut and portrait diamonds, turquoise, purpurine, rock crystal, enamel and watercolor on ivory. It is 190 mm in height and 78 mm in diameter. The egg celebrates the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty, the three hundred years of Romanov rule from 1613 to 1913. The outside contains eighteen portraits of the Romanov Tsars of Russia. The egg is decorated in a chased gold pattern with double-headed eagles as well as past and present Romanov crowns which frame the portraits of the Tsars. Each miniature portrait, painted by miniaturist Vassily Zuiev, is on ivory and is bordered by rose-cut diamonds. The inside of the egg is opalescent white enamel. The egg sits on a pedestal that represents the Imperial double-headed eagle in gold, with three talons holding the Imperial scepter, orb and Romanov sword. The pedestal is supported by a purpurine base that represents the Russian Imperial shield.”
