Winter (Fabergé egg)
| Winter Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
| Year delivered | 1913 |
| Customer | Nicholas II of Russia |
| Current owner | |
| Individual or institution | Private collection (Qatar) |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Alma Pihl |
| Materials used | diamond, quartz, platinum, orthoclase, gold, demantoid |
| Height | 10.2 cm |
| Surprise | flower basket |
The 1913 Winter Egg is one of a series of fifty-two Russian jewelled Easter eggs and was designed by Alma Pihl, a designer who worked for Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. The Tsar Nicholas II had a standing order of two easter eggs every year, one for his mother, and one for his wife. The Winter Egg was an Easter gift for his mother, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The price in 1913 was 24,700 rubles, the most expensive Easter egg ever made. The egg sold for US$9.6 million in an auction at Christie's in New York City in 2002.[1] It was reported that the buyer was Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.[2]
Design
The exterior of the egg is studded with 1,660 diamonds, and made from quartz, platinum, and orthoclase. The miniature surprise basket is studded with 1,378 diamonds and is made from platinum and gold, while the flowers are made of white quartz and the leaves are made of demantoid. The flowers lie in gold moss. The egg is 102 millimeters high.
See also
References
- ↑ Varoli, John (28 November 2007). "Rothschilds' Faberge Egg Fetches Record $16.5 Million (Update2)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ↑ Worth hunting for, the ultimate Easter eggs, www.telegraph.co.uk, 16 March 2008, retrieved 6 March 2015