A spectacular diamond-studded crystal Fabergé egg, a piece once owned by Russia’s Imperial Romanov family, has fetched a world-record price of $30.2 million at auction in London, per bbc.com.
The piece, known as the Winter Egg, was sold to an anonymous bidder at Christie’s on Tuesday. The sale sets a new high for any work by the legendary jeweller.
Commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913 as a gift for his mother, the Winter Egg is widely regarded as one of Carl Fabergé’s most breathtaking creations. It is lavishly decorated with 4,500 rose-cut diamonds and intricate platinum snowflake motifs carved into its rock crystal shell. The 8.2cm (3.2in) tall egg opens to reveal a surprise—a miniature basket filled with white quartz flowers.
The previous auction record for a Fabergé egg stood at £8.9 million, set in 2007.
“Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece,” said Christie’s Margo Oganesian.
The egg’s design was the work of Alma Theresia Pihl, one of only two female workmasters at the St Petersburg jewellery company.
The Fabergé house produced only 50 Imperial Eggs for the Romanov family between 1885 and 1917, the year Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. The Imperial Winter Egg is one of a mere seven of these treasures that remain in private hands, with the others either missing or housed in museums and institutions.
•Featured image by Reuters
