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One of the most renowned creations of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberge, the "Winter Egg" is set to go under the hammer at Christie’s London next week, with an estimated price of at least £20 million ($26 million). The sale marks the first time the egg has appeared at auction in more than two decades.
Commissioned in 1913 by Tsar Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Winter Egg is renowned for its intricate craftsmanship and extraordinary design. Carved from rock crystal and engraved on the interior with a delicate frost motif, the egg rests on a base shaped to resemble melting ice. Its surface is adorned with over 4,500 rose-cut diamonds set in platinum snowflake patterns.
Inside, the egg conceals a “surprise”: a miniature bouquet of white quartz wood anemones with stems and stamens crafted from gold wire. The entire piece, including its base, measures just 14.2 centimetres (5.6 inches) in height, underscoring the meticulous skill required to create such a complex object on a miniature scale.
“This is truly one of the rarest items that you can find,” said Margo Oganesian of Christie’s to AFP. “Out of 43 surviving Imperial Faberge eggs, only seven remain in private hands. The Winter Egg’s technique and craftsmanship make it a singular masterpiece.”
The Winter Egg has a history of record-breaking sales. In 1994, it sold in Geneva for 7.2 million Swiss francs ($8.93 million), and eight years later, in New York, it achieved $9.6 million. Its upcoming auction could mark the third time it has set a world record for a work by Faberge.
Faberge created 50 Imperial Easter eggs between 1885 and 1917, of which 43 are known to survive. Many of these treasures were dispersed following the Russian Revolution, when the Soviet government sold Imperial possessions to raise foreign currency.
The Winter Egg, after being transferred from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in the 1920s, was acquired by London jeweller Wartski between 1929 and 1933 and subsequently passed through several private British collections. It was considered lost after 1975 and only rediscovered in 1994.
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