PHOTO Record price for a jewel of the Russian imperial family. The “Winter Egg” was made with 4,500 diamonds

The Winter Egg of the Russian imperial family, considered one of the most beautiful objects created by the jeweler Fabergé, was sold for a record price of 22.9 million pounds (26 million euros) at an auction organized by Christie's in London on Tuesday, reports AFP, taken by Agerpres.

He set “a new world price record for a Fabergé work,” Margo Oganesian, director of the Department of Faberge Eggs and Russian Works of Art at the organizing auction house, pointed out in a press release.

The tradition of Fabergé eggs

This luxury object, which was coveted by many international collectors, had been estimated at over 20 million pounds by Christie's, which did not reveal the identity or nationality of the buyer. “Since only a few Imperial Easter eggs are still in the possession of private collectors, this was an exceptional and historic occasion,” said Margo Oganesian.

Commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II for his mother, Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna, the Romanov Winter Egg was not only a witness to the turmoil of modern Russian history, but is also, in many ways, an exceptional object.

It far surpassed the previous price record set for a Fabergé egg. This had been established in 2007 with the sale of the Rothschild Egg by the same auction house, purchased for almost 9 million pounds (12.5 million euros) by a Russian collector.

The jewelry house led by Russian jeweler Pierre-Karl Fabergé created 50 such eggs for the imperial family during the Easter holidays, before it was ousted from power during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and its members were executed in 1918. The tradition of Fabergé eggs was inaugurated by Tsar Alexander III. It was continued by his son, Nicholas II, with a small difference. The last tsar in history ordered two eggs from Fabergé: one for his mother, in addition to the one for his wife, Alexandra.

“An exceptional object”

These eggs enjoyed a new interest in the art market after the 1950s – until then, they were mainly popular among wealthy Russians, eager to give themselves a piece of their country's history. To date, only 43 of them still exist, and seven are owned by private collectors. But the Winter Egg has a special place in the Romanov collection.

At 14 centimeters high, carved from a fragile rock crystal and adorned with more than 4,500 diamonds, this is, according to experts, the most luxurious creation of the house of Fabergé for the Russian imperial family. In addition to the opulence of the object itself, “the technique and craftsmanship used make it an exceptional object,” said Margo Oganesian. “It's hard to understand how Fabergé managed to make it,” she added.

The egg and its base are carved in rock crystal, then decorated with platinum mounts in the shape of snowflakes. Inside, a surprise is offered to the eyes: a bouquet of flowers composed of white quartz anemones, fixed on gold wire stems in a platinum basket.

Like the other possessions of the Romanov family, it bears the imprint of Russian history. In the 1920s, it was transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where it was sold by the Bolsheviks. It was then bought by a London jeweler. In 1949, it was sold again at auction in London, before disappearing from the radar. Its current owner has not been disclosed.

“For 20 years, experts and specialists lost sight of it, until it was rediscovered in 1994 and put up for sale by Christie's in Geneva,” pointed out Margo Oganesian. Eight years later, in 2002, it was sold again, this time in New York, for $9.6 million.