ROYAL CONNECTIONS

The British royal family had a particular association with the work of one Russian master enameller…

Almost all the Fabergé pieces in the collection were acquired as gi s

Peter Carl Fabergé is a name to conjure with well beyond the worlds of antiques and jewellery. The great Russian jeweller and goldsmith (1846-1920) is most famous today for the spectacular Imperial Easter Eggs he designed for the Russian royal family – but almost 600 of his other creations are also represented in the Royal Collection, assembled by Edward VII, George V and others.

Almost all the Fabergé pieces in the collection were acquired as gi s, exchanged by the Russian, Danish and British royal families. The connection stemmed from two Danish sisters – the princesses Alexandra (1844-1925) and Dagmar (1847-1928). Dagmar became Tsarina Maria Feodorovna through her marriage to Tsar Alexander III of Russia, while her sister became Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII.

The sisters exchanged Fabergé pieces as birthday and Christmas presents, providing priceless publicity for Fabergé in the process. Edward VII, meanwhile, expanded the collection by commissioning portrait sculptures of his favourite pets and other animals at the Sandringham estate farm in Norfolk.

Later, in the 1930s, Edward’s son and successor George V and Queen Mary purchased the three Imperial Easter Eggs in the collection – the Basket of Flowers Egg, the Colonnade

1 2 3 1. Each flower, leaf and husk has been modelled to look as realistic as possible. The egg was bought by Queen Mary in 1933. 2. In 1907, King Edward VII commissioned hardstone sculptures of some of his favourite dogs and horses. This exquisite miniature portrays his favourite terrier, Caesar. The dog is modelled in chalcedony, a milky variety of quartz, and his polished ruby eyes hint at his mischievous personality. He also bears his real- life inscription ‘I belong to the King’ in gold and enamel. 3. Two doves in the centre represent the enduring affection between Tsar Nicholas II, who commissioned the egg, and his wife Alexandra. The silver- gilt cherubs seated around the base depict their four daughters, while the long- awaited heir to the throne, Alexei, is the Cupid. 4. One of the most extraordinary of Fabergé’s Imperial Easter Eggs, the Mosaic Egg features a mesh fitted with tiny diamonds, rubies, topaz, sapphires, garnets, pearls and emeralds. The ‘surprise’ within is a medallion with portraits of the children of Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra. 5. This ivory elephant was made as the ‘surprise’ for the Diamond Trellis Egg, made by Carl Fabergé for Tsar Alexander III. 4