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Decorative Arts :
Faberge Style Antiques : Fabergé Style Egg
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Fabergé Style Egg - PF.5278
Origin: St. Petersburg, Russian
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
4" (10.2cm) high
x 1.75" (4.4cm) wide
Collection: Decorative Arts
Medium: Enameled Silver
$4,200.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Of all of the creations of the House of Fabergé
none possesses the mystique attached to the
Imperial Easter Eggs. Their centrality to Fabergé’s
entire oeuvre is so dominant that one
immediately thinks of these eggs first whenever
the name of Fabergé is mentioned. In order to
place these eggs in context, it is worth recalling
that the egg was anciently imbued with
overtones of resurrection, later a suitable symbol
for Christian Easter. The practice of distributing
eggs as reminder’s of Christ’s resurrection began
in the Middle Ages, and developed in Russia
where the traditional gift of an egg at Easter was
accompanied by the recipient receiving three
kisses. In Russia, such Easter eggs may be
lavishly decorated, as examples of pysanky, the
art of beautifully dyed Ukrainian Easter eggs,
reveal. The practice of presenting actual Easter
eggs, therefore, was an established tradition in
Russia, but Fabergé perfected the concept of
creating bejeweled Easter eggs for the Russian
Imperial family when he created the very first for
Tsar Alexander III to present to his wife, the
Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, as a gift on Easter
1885.
The House of Fabergé created an entire line of
Easter eggs for clients and patrons other than
the Russian Imperial family. This particular
example is a reflection of those creations, and
represents a variation of the theme of the Easter
egg in the form of an egg-shaped goblet framed
by a foot and neck which are symmetrically
designed as mirror-images of one another. In
keeping with Fabergé’s love of flowers,
predicated on the observation that flowers were
a constant reminder of the long White Nights of
the summers in St. Petersburg where winters are
accompanied by extremely short days and bitter
cold nights, floral forms dominate this creation
and evoke an enchanted, fairy-tale forest.
Dr. Robert Steven Bianchi
References:
Robert Steven Bianchi, Fabergé. Exhibition Album
(St. Petersburg 2000), pages 18-21, passim, for
a succinct discussion about and his Imperial
Easter eggs. For examples of Fabergé’s use of
the egg motif incorporated into the design of
other deluxe objects, see Geza Von Habsburg,
Alexander von Solodkoff, and Robert Steven
Bianchi, Fabergé. Imperial Craftsman and his
World (London 2000), page 164, catalogue
number 316 (the handle for a walking stick);
page 189, catalogue numbers 398 and 403
(scent-flasks); page 181, catalogue number 405
(a bonbonnière); passim.
- (PF.5278)
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