Nine Faberge Eggs Up For Auction

Nine Easter gifts will be up for auction this April at Sotheby’s in New York. These of course are not just any gifts, but rather Faberge Eggs, commissioned by Tsar Alexander III in 1885 as Easter gifts for his wife, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

The nine eggs, together with another 180 other dazzling Faberge creations are part of the Forbes Collection, the largest private collection of the fabled Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs in the world and one of the largest collections in existence. The offered items are estimated to be worth in excess of $90 million.

A common metaphor for unique, intricate and extraordinary treasures, they were first commissioned from the House of Faberge by Tsar Alexander III. His son and successor, Tsar Nicholas II, later commissioned more for his own wife Alexandra and for his mother, the Dowager Empress, continuing an Imperial Easter tradition, which endured for over thirty years.

“The Faberge Collection was one of the great passions of our father's life. The acquisitions, the auctions and its assembly were extraordinary adventures for all of us,” the Forbes family says.

There are altogether just 50 imperial Faberge Eggs. Those not part of the Forbes collection are residing in the Armory Museum in the Kremlin, the collection of Queen Elizabeth II and museums across the world. Eight of the famous eggs are missing.