Favourite Faberge Eggs

Isn't that the Romanov Tercentenary Egg?

Isn't that the Romanov Tercentenary Egg?

Exactly!  ...I found it right now in the Main Alexander Palace time machine site...  http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/1913egg.html

The Lillies of the valley egg is my fave, not that I'm trying to be repetitive.  Ever since I saw it, I've wanted to plant some of them in my garden.

[Stana]

I cannot help but contribute my opinion here.  My favorite by far would have to be the Imperial Rose Trellis Egg of 1907.  Nearly everyone is familiar with this one so I won't go into too much detail, but the workmaster was Henrik Wigstrom, and it is crafted out of gold, enamel, and diamonds.  It is 7.7 x 5.9 cm.

It is wonderful to here/see what other people favor as well!

I am very excited because the Legion of Honor museum of San Francisco had a wonderful exhibition running from February 7-May 31 this past year entitled ARTISTIC LUXURY: Faberge, Tiffany, Lalique, which I had the honor of viewing.  To my delight, the Faberge section of this exhibition was quite extensive, featuring many of the most famous eggs, including the Imperial Rose Trellis Egg.  The collection also included another notable artifact from the Faberge collection, which is the large Tea Service and Tea Table (68.6 x 76.2 cm), as well as some quite-smaller fancy cigarette cases and much more.  To put it simply, it was an amazing experience to be able to view this collection at such close range (literally inches away).  I must admit that when I saw the Romanov portraits on the eggs as well as the beautiful Lilies of the Valley Basket (which you can view at this link: http://www.clevelandart.org/exhibit/faberge/images/big/lilies_in_valley.jpg) that was presented to Empress Alexandra in 1896 and which subsequently sat on her desk in years to follow, I could not restrain a few tears at the thought that the Romanovs themselves were enjoying these luxuries less than a century ago.  It is quite amazing to see such a collection in person and if you have the chance to see a similar show, I shall take a moment to just say that this is an opportunity not to be missed, especially if you are one of those admirers of Faberge's artistry.  And of course, in this case, it was also interesting to compare the very different artistic techniques of Tiffany and Lalique, and as usual, the Legion of Honor had beautiful souvenirs in their gift shop, which included stunning Faberge reproductions and a collectors catalog documenting the full extent of the show.

It would be interesting if other users who have viewed a similar Faberge show would share their experiences.

Best,

Stana

I must be really dumb to not have heard of the rose trellis egg before.  I must agree, it's very pretty. 

[Stana]

First, responding to Anastasia_Spalko: Perhaps I should have worded my message differently.  Let's just say many people have seen the Imperial Rose Trellis Egg and there is nothing wrong with seeing it the first time.  Didn't we all once?  In my opinion, the more people who see it the better.  And yes, it is very pretty.  I would also have to agree with you that the Lilies of the Valley Egg is wonderful and that those flowers are lovely.  If I remember correctly, they were Empress Alexandra's favorite.  [Oh, and btw, I have to compliment you on your banner!  It looks like I_am_Tatianochka designed a beautiful one for you!]

And back to the Faberge topic!  Thank you Leanora for pointing out this website (http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fab/fab00.html), even if you did back in...2004!, which is a nice resource for quick lookups.

When I went to Faberge show, I also saw the Lapis Lazuli Hen Egg, which I like very much.  It is viewable at this link: http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fab/02/fab02.html.

Best,

Stana

Faberge should have made more eggs that were simliar to those.  He was a genius, though.  Those eggs are the most useless, beautiful, extraordinary things on the planet that has been man-made.  Oh, and Stana, actually, considering the fact that the Romanovs are my life, i probably should have seen it already. XD  Maybe i have seen that one before, but i can't remeber, because it looks familiar and i have a bad memory.

[Stana]

Faberge was a genius.  He did his job so well though it must have been really hard on him to live to see the Romanovs come to the end they did.  Tragic, actually.

While the eggs might be "useless" in some aspects, they feed our souls and make us happy =D, so...they serve their purpose, even up to the modern day.

Oh, and yes, the Romanovs are my life too.  I won't comment about your memory, =D, but I will just say that when I am busy, sometimes I feel like I my memory is strained.  Thank god for vacations =D!  I am on one now...finally.

Best,

Stana

Commenting on displays of the better and lesser-known Faberge Eggs:  Over the years, I have had the good fortune to unhurriedly view almost all of the well-known Faberge eggs, just inches away from each, on different occasions in exhibitions in/from sites such as Delaware, USA, San Diego, USA, Richmond Museum of Art, USA, the Moscow Kremlin and Windsor Castle.  The Rose Trellis Egg especially amazes one because of its relative smaller size than expected.  (As the years progressed, the Eggs grew bigger and bigger, you will note.)  I looked intensely at the Rose Trellis egg for a LONG time, and if one did not know, you could NOT see how it opened. Wonderful work, indeed. ( Parenthetically, I suppose that one knows that there are actually 2 different "Red Cross" Eggs? )  AP

[Stana]

It is very nice that you had the opportunity to see many of the eggs as well!  As I noted below, I also had a similar opportunity.  Faberge's artistry is just impeccable.  The perfection of the Imperial Rose Trellis Egg demonstrates that.

It is so wonderful that people can have the opportunity to view these masterpieces with their very own eyes and at such a close range.

Best,

Stana

 Over the years, I have had the good fortune to unhurriedly view almost all of the well-known Faberge eggs, just inches away from each, on different occasions in exhibitions in/from sites such as Delaware, USA, San Diego, USA, Richmond Museum of Art, USA, the Moscow Kremlin and Windsor Castle.

You are so lucky to have seen those..  Amazingly, i'm on vacation and i'm still checking these practically 24/7.

Commenting on displays of the better and lesser-known Faberge Eggs:  Over the years, I have had the good fortune to unhurriedly view almost all of the well-known Faberge eggs, just inches away from each, on different occasions in exhibitions in/from sites such as Delaware, USA, San Diego, USA, Richmond Museum of Art, USA, the Moscow Kremlin and Windsor Castle.  The Rose Trellis Egg especially amazes one because of its relative smaller size than expected.  (As the years progressed, the Eggs grew bigger and bigger, you will note.)  I looked intensely at the Rose Trellis egg for a LONG time, and if one did not know, you could NOT see how it opened. Wonderful work, indeed. ( Parenthetically, I suppose that one knows that there are actually 2 different "Red Cross" Eggs? )  AP

What an amazing opportunity!  I say this because just recently, it's popped in my mind to do this as well!  I got to see a few of them, all the time, awhile back when they were at the Forbes Gallery.  I have also missed several opportunities to view them too!  I was in Cleveland, Ohio a few years ago and my brain never registered that Fabergé eggs were in the vicinity.

Okay, my favorites are:

Gatchina Egg
Clover Egg
15th Anniversary Egg
Tercentenary Egg
Mosaic Egg

I do like the Danish Palaces egg but that's heightened because of the book about it by Cheboksarova.

My favourite egg is the one made to commemorate the Shtandart, the İmperial yacht.

They are all so beautiful, detailed and clever. I would have to say my favorite eggs are these: (in no particular order)
Mosaic Egg
Rose Trellis Egg
18 panel egg -- Kelch egg, I know, but still Faberge
Rocaille egg -- another Kelch
Alexander Palace egg
Rennisance egg
Lily-of-the-valley egg
Monogram egg