Nécessaire (Fabergé egg)
| Nécessaire Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year delivered | 1889 |
| Customer | Alexander III |
| Recipient | Maria Feodorovna |
| Current owner | |
| Individual or institution | Unknown |
| Year of acquisition | Last known 1952 |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Unknown |
| Materials used | Gold, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, diamonds, pearl ring |
| Height | Unknown |
| Width | Unknown |
| Surprise | 13 diamond-encrusted gold woman's toilet implements |
The Nécessaire egg is an Imperial Fabergé egg, one of a series of fifty-two jeweled eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé for the Russian Imperial family. It was crafted and delivered to the then Tsar of Russia, Alexander III who presented it to his wife, Maria Feodorovna on Easter day 1889. The egg is one of the lost Imperial eggs, but is known to have survived the Russian Revolution and was sold by Wartski in London in 1952.
Design of egg
[edit]This egg was designed as an étui containing woman's toilet items.[1] The exact appearance of the egg was unknown for decades, until it was identified in two different photographs in the early 21st century.
The piece was first identified in a 1949 Wartski firm's archival photo, when it was on exhibition in the antique dealer's shop in London. The discovery was announced in the weekly magazine Country Life on 20 March 2008.[2] In that 1949 photograph, the egg is partially seen in a vitrine, although its image is not very clear. However, in 2017 a more detailed photo was found by a Fabergé amateur researcher after scrolling through images on the internet. The news was published in the Daily Mail on 29 December 2017.[3] The old shot shows a group of Russian treasures, including on the left the missing 1889 Easter egg in a box.[4]
Until then, the information available was brief descriptions, as the one found in the 1917 inventory of confiscated imperial treasure, where it was listed as being decorated with "multi-colored stones and brilliants, rubies, emeralds and sapphires."[1]
Surprise in egg
[edit]The surprise was that egg was essentially an etui, or necessaire, with 13 diamond-encrusted implements and toilet articles.[5]
History
[edit]On 9 April 1889, Alexander III presented the egg to his wife, Maria Feodorovna. It was housed at the Gatchina Palace and was taken on at least one trip to Moscow, as demonstrated by an invoice for the trip which describes the egg.[1]
After the 1917 revolution the Nécessaire Egg was seized along with the rest of the imperial eggs and sent to the Armoury Palace of the Kremlin. During the early part of 1922 the egg was transferred to the Sovnarkom. It was last shown at Wartski Ltd., court jewelers and Fabergé specialists. It was shown at Wartski's in 1949 as part of the first dedicated exhibition of Faberge's works in Europe. It was later acquired and sold by the firm. In an article on the egg, Wartski states, "It was last recorded [on our premises] on the 19th June 1952 when it was sold to a buyer named as 'A Stranger' for £1250 ... The purchaser's anonymity was safeguarded throughout Wartski's records and they remain unidentified."[6] Its current whereabouts are unknown.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lowes, Will; McCanless, Christel Ludewig (2001). Fabergé Eggs A Retrospective Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press Inc. p. 26. ISBN 0-8108-3946-6.
- ^ "1889 Nécessaire Egg - Mieks Fabergé Eggs". Wintraecken.nl. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "Could this £30 million egg be sitting on YOUR mantelpiece? Hunt is stepped up for lost Faberge egg sold in London in 1952 which experts believe is still in Britain". Daily Mail. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "Where is the missing Fabergé Nécessaire Egg? – Wartski". Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "The Lost Imperial Nécessaire Fabergé Easter Egg – Wartski". Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- ^ "News & Research: The Lost Imperial Nécessaire Fabergé Easter Egg". Wartski. London: Wartski Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
Sources
[edit]- Faber, Toby (2008). Faberge's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6550-9.
- Forbes, Christopher; Prinz von Hohenzollern, Johann Georg (1990). FABERGE; The Imperial Eggs. Prestel. ASIN B000YA9GOM.
- Lowes, Will (2001). Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3946-6.
- Snowman, A Kenneth (1988). Carl Faberge: Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia. Gramercy. ISBN 0-517-40502-4.
External links
[edit]
- "The Lost Imperial Necessaire Easter Egg by Carl Fabergé". www.wartski.com. Wartski. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- Website by Annemiek Wintraecken, details on each of the Fabergé Eggs