{"id":2179046,"date":"2025-11-27T17:20:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2179046"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:20:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:20:45","slug":"rare-faberge-egg-thought-to-be-lost-for-decades-could-break-auction-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/rare-faberge-egg-thought-to-be-lost-for-decades-could-break-auction-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare Faberge egg thought to be lost for decades could break auction records"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-10wlkbs-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveIndyHeadlinesNews\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM fafQAy\">Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM fvWmZq\">Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM hkVmms\">Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/morningHeadlines1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Morning Headlines\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>A rare crystal and diamond Faberg\u00e9 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/egg\">egg<\/a>, created for Russia\u2019s ruling family before its revolutionary overthrow, is set for auction, with an estimated value exceeding \u00a320 million ($26.4 million).<\/p>\n<p>Christie\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/auction-house\">auction house<\/a> confirms the Winter Egg is just one of seven such opulent ovoids still in private hands. It will be offered for sale at Christie\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/london\">London<\/a> headquarters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The 4-inch (10-centimetre) tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4,500 tiny diamonds. <\/p>\n<p>It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejewelled quartz flowers symbolising spring.<\/p>\n<p>Margo Oganesian, head of Christie&#8217;s Russian art department, likened it to a &#8220;luxurious <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/kinder-surprise\">Kinder Surprise<\/a> chocolate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Winter Egg is a superb example of craft and design, &#8220;the \u2018<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/mona-lisa\">Mona Lisa<\/a>\u2019 for decorative arts,&#8221; Oganesian said.<\/p>\n<p>One of just two created by female designer Alma Pihl, the egg was commissioned by Czar Nicholas II for his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna as an Easter present in 1913. Pihl&#8217;s other egg is owned by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/britain\">Britain<\/a>\u2019s royal family.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 BOPMB\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/APTOPIX_Britain_Auction_34783.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/APTOPIX_Britain_Auction_34783.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/APTOPIX_Britain_Auction_34783.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The Winter Egg was a lavish Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-0 dkRtZs inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-8418\"><span class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-1 hwVecx\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 gtVitN hgzWpY\">The Winter Egg was a lavish Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 exGSyR\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Associated Press\/Kirsty Wigglesworth<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Craftsman Peter Carl Faberg\u00e9 and his company created more than 50 of the eggs for Russia\u2019s imperial family between 1885 and 1917, each elaborately unique and containing a hidden surprise. <\/p>\n<p>Czar Alexander III started the tradition by presenting an egg to his wife each Easter. His successor, Nicholas II, extended the gift to his wife and mother.<\/p>\n<p>The Romanov royal family ruled Russia for 300 years before it was ousted by the 1917 revolution. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918.<\/p>\n<p>Bought by a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/london\">London<\/a> dealer for \u00a3450 when the cash-strapped Communist authorities sold off some of Russia\u2019s artistic treasures in the 1920s, the egg changed hands several times. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 kvctKK\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/Britain_Auction_74836.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/Britain_Auction_74836.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/11\/27\/11\/Britain_Auction_74836.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The Winter Egg by Faberge is expected to sell for in excess of \u00a320 million when it is auctioned\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-0 dkRtZs inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-8419\"><span class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-1 hwVecx\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 gtVitN hgzWpY\">The Winter Egg by Faberge is expected to sell for in excess of \u00a320 million when it is auctioned<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 exGSyR\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Associated Press\/Kirsty Wigglesworth<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>It was believed lost for two decades until it was auctioned by Christie\u2019s in 1994 for more than 7 million Swiss francs ($5.6 million at the time). It sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million.<\/p>\n<p>Now it is expected to surpass the record $18.5 million paid at a 2007 Christie\u2019s auction for another Faberg\u00e9 egg created for the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/rothschild\">Rothschild<\/a> banking family.<\/p>\n<p>There are 43 surviving imperial Faberg\u00e9 eggs, most in museums.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email A rare crystal and diamond Faberg\u00e9 egg, created for Russia\u2019s ruling family before its revolutionary overthrow, is set for auction, with an estimated value exceeding [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2179047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2179046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Rare-Faberge-egg-thought-to-be-lost-for-decades-could.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2179046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2179048,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179046\/revisions\/2179048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2179047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2179046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2179046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2179046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}