The Renaissance egg is a jewelled

agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

made by

Michael Perchin Michael Evlampievich Perkhin (; 1860-1903) was a Russian jeweler. Born in Prionezhsky District, Okulovskaya in Olonets Governorate (now Republic of Karelia), he moved to St. Petersburg, he joined the House of Fabergé. With Henrik Wigström, h ...

under the supervision of the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n jeweller

Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...

in 1894. The egg was made for

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

, who presented it to his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna. It was the last

Fabergé egg A Fabergé egg () is a jewelled egg first created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 Czarist Russia Era eggs were created, of which 61 are currently known to have survived. Virtually all of the ...

that Alexander presented to Maria.

Surprise

In Fabergé's invoice the surprise is not mentioned, since "pearls" are mentioned and they are not present in the egg itself, it has been suggested they could be connected with a now lost surprise. Another hypothesis, advanced by Christopher Forbes, is that the surprise for the Renaissance egg is the Resurrection egg, which perfectly fits the curvature of the Renaissance egg's shell, has a similar decoration in enamel on the base as well as pearls. It was also shown at the same showcase as the Renaissance egg, during a Fabergé exhibition held in the Von Dervis mansion in St. Petersburg in March 1902, where surprises were exhibited out of the Imperial eggs. Likewise, the Resurrection egg has no inventory number, which would speak in favour of this theory.

History

Alexander III was billed 4,750 rubles for the Renaissance egg, and it was confiscated by the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

in 1917. It was sold alongside nine other eggs for 1,500 rubles to

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American businessman and philanthropist. The son of a Russian Empire-born communist activist, Hammer trained as a physician before beginning his career in trade with the newly estab ...

. Advertised for sale by Hammer in 1937, it was sold to Henry Talbot DeVere Clifton. It had been sold in November 1949 to the

Swingline Swingline is a division of ACCO Brands Corporation that specializes in manufacturing staplers and hole punches. From its foundation in 1925, the company was located in Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, until the plant was moved ...

magnates Jack and Belle Linsky. Attempting to give their Fabergé collection to the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

, the Linskys were rebuffed, as the museum stated it was not interested in "

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

decorative trivia". The egg was then sold to the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

antique dealers A La Vieille Russie, where it was purchased by

Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He repres ...

for his collection on May 15, 1965. The Forbes Collection was sold in 2004 to

Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs () are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownership ...

Viktor Vekselberg Viktor Felixovich Vekselberg (born April 14, 1957) is a Russian-Israeli businessman and oligarch. He is the founder and chairman of Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate. According to ''Forbes'', as of November 2021, his fortune is estimated at ...

. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs as part of the collection for almost $100 million. "The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge"
BBC FOUR

Design

The piece is based on an 18th century casket by Le Roy at the Green Vault, Germany.Fabergé Research Site, Renaissance egg
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References

Sources

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External links

from imperialtresuresofrussia.com
Lecture by Christopher Forbes about the former Forbes Fabergé collection (including his theory on the Renaissance egg surprise)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaissance (Faberge egg) Imperial Fabergé eggs 1894 works Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia