Tsar Alexander II and his wife Marie Fedorovna |
The 2014 Sochi Olympics is the most expensive Winter Olympics ever
prepared. The whole cost of the Sochi Olympics amounts to $44 billion. The
Russians are not new when it comes to expensive and elegant things. Several
items synonymous to the Russians priced a lot of dollars. For example, caviar,
an expensive fish of sturgeons is always associated with Iranians and Russians.
But one of the most expensive treasures labelled to Russians are the elegant
and very expensive Faberge Eggs.
Faberge Eggs are Easter eggs decorated with precious stones
and usually made of gold. It was the symbol of wealth, power, and luxury of the
Romanov Dynasty. It beginnings were traced to a gift to a mourning Tsarina. From
the gift it became a tradition that led to a lot of beautifully decorated eggs
that today worth millions.
The start of the Faberge Eggs can be drawn during the time
of the Tsarist Russia. It was during the reign of Alexander III. The Tsar just
took power for four years, after the bloody assassination of his father, Tsar
Alexander II. During that time, Alexander III’s wife, Tsarina Marie Fedorovna,
was traumatized by the death of his father-in-law. She was gloomy and somewhat
depressed. His husband wished to cheer her up. In addition, he wanted to give a gift for their 20th wedding anniversary. Moreover, more to cheering
her up and celebrating two decades of marriage, Easter was nearing.
In Russian tradition, Easter is a very important and celebratory
day. For the Russian Orthodox Church, it celebrates the resurrection of Christ.
Following the Julian calendar, it is celebrated either in April or May. Many
exchange gifts and colorfully decorated eggs. The tsar thought to give her wife
a very special egg.
The Tsar was also inspired to give an grandiose egg with a
similarly extravagantly decorated egg owned by the aunt of his wife, Vilhelmine
Marie of Denmark. Tsarina’s aunt owed a very beautiful egg that was admired by
the Tsarina. The Tsar wanted to recreate that egg to cheer his wife.
Carl Faberge |
The task of making the Tsar gift into reality fell into the
hands of the famous jeweler Peter Carl Faberge. Carl Faberge was the son of the
owner of the well renowned jeweler shop, the House of Faberge. In a young age,
he was sent by his father to study in Europe. While in Europe, he studied the
art of making jewelry. In the age of 26, he returned to Russia and later on
took charge of the family business. His jewelry business created many pieces of
work of art. In 1882, his works were displayed during the Pan-Russian
Exhibition. One of the most affluent individuals that took notice of him was
the Russian Tsar himself, Alexander III.
The Tsar gave Faberge 15,000 rubles for a very elegant Easter
egg. The result was the first Faberge Egg known as the Hen Egg. The Hen Egg is
like a nest doll. The Hen Egg’s shell is made of gold with an opaque enameled shell.
Inside is a yellow gold yolk. The yolk then holds a golden hen with eyes made
of rubies. Further inside the hen lies a miniature crown jewel and a tiny ruby
egg. Unfortunately, the miniature crown and the tiny ruby egg is lost. The
Tsarina was very much delighted when she received the egg. So delighted, that
the Tsar every year ordered for similarly grandiose eggs, with a special
surprise inside the egg being the requirement.
The tradition continued even if Tsar Alexander III died. His
successor and son, Nicholas II continued to order eggs to Faberge every Easter.
In 1900, the Faberge was among the Russian icons displayed in the World
Exhibition in Paris, alongside with the famous Matryoshka dolls. One of the
most famous eggs during Nicholas’ time was the Fifteenth Anniversary Egg to
celebrate his marriage to his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra, in 1911. The end of
the Romanov Faberge ended when the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917. Peter
Carl Faberge escaped Russia. Most of his works, either lost or sold in the
market for millions of dollars.
See also:
Bibliography:
Venable, S. Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia. California:
ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2011.
Volkov, S. St. Petersburg: A Cultural History. New York City: Free Press Paperbacks, 1995.
Volkov, S. St. Petersburg: A Cultural History. New York City: Free Press Paperbacks, 1995.
“Faberge Eggs.” Treasures of the World. Accessed February
16, 2014. http://www.pbs.org.
“Imperial Eggs.” Faberge. Accessed February 16, 2014. http://www.faberge.com
“Imperial Eggs.” Faberge. Accessed February 16, 2014. http://www.faberge.com
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