175 years ago, Faberge was founded in St. Petersburg by Gustav Faberge. It all started with a small workshop, but in a few years the company acquired branches in Moscow, Odessa, Kiev and London. It was an unprecedented success!
Faberge products - watches, jewelry, cigarette cases, sets, binoculars and much more - are recognized as masterpieces, and therefore are still highly valued to this day. The most famous are unique Easter eggs of the finest work with magnificent interpretations under the baroque, rococo, classicism. The design solutions, mechanical secrets, the thoroughness of the finishing, the most complicated execution technique are literally amazing. All this was achieved by Karl Gustavovich Faberge, who headed the family business in 1870.
THE GREAT COMING
In 1882, Moscow exploded into a sensation. At the world exhibition "Russian Artistic and Industrial Art" the little-known Russified Frenchman Carl Faberge demonstrated an amazing collection of copies of Scythian treasures. The very ones that were kept in the Golden Storeroom of the Hermitage. Newspapers choked with delight, the public poured into the exhibition in order to see this miracle with an eye, monocles fell out of prim Europeans - a complete sensation! It came, naturally, to the sovereign Emperor Alexander III.
The king invited the jeweler to the palace. An interesting idea has appeared. On a secret - from the confidants and from the Empress Maria Feodorovna - a certain decision was made. Faberge agreed to fulfill the royal order.
What after a while the master presented to the sovereign amazed everyone. It was a masterpiece of jewelry! In a small elegant box on velvet lay an Easter egg of unprecedented beauty. And with a surprise! The Empress, and this was a gift for her, was indescribable delight. (Unfortunately, today this miracle of jewelry craftsmanship has been lost. Perhaps it is kept in some closed private collection.)
This egg made Fabergé a court jeweler in an instant. At that time, such a "quality mark" was worth a lot. A simple jewelry workshop instantly turned into a solid company. Orders rained down. And could it be otherwise, because Faberge was not just a fine craftsman - there are many of them. And you cannot call him a miracle craftsman. He was unique! Karl Gustavovich developed new technologies for processing precious metals. For example, he could give gold a shade of any color. He kept his know-how in the strictest confidence, which is why some of the technological subtleties are still unknown. He invented original types of cutting and setting stones. I went on risky experiments on the combination of noble and base metals. Well, who, you see, would dream of combining gold and … polished stainless steel in one piece? Yes Yes!It was such an Easter egg in 1916 that his wife Alexandra Feodorovna accepted from the hands of Nicholas II with delight. Awesome! And every thing is a masterpiece, every new decision is a breakthrough … Faberge's triumphal procession in the world of jewelry has begun. It was that memorable Easter of 1884 (some lean towards 1885).
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MEMORY "AZOV"
The authority of the master in the royal family was so high that only the details were stipulated when ordering. The rest completely relied on Faberge. The members of the august family knew perfectly well: he will surely shake, strike on the spot, extremely delight.
The master presented another Easter egg to the august family in 1891, on the eve of the long voyage of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (future Emperor Nicholas II) across the countries of the East.
When the disturbing news came from Japan that one of the Japanese officers accidentally, but very seriously, struck the heir to the Russian throne with a sheath of a heavy sword, the mother was seriously worried about her son's health. Only prayers and a surprise egg "Memory of Azov" returned her peace of mind. Inside it, she saw a miniature model of the Azov ship, on which the Grand Duke traveled. The ship rested on crystal clear water. The case itself was made of heliotrope - a symbol of prosperity. And the empress thought it was a good sign.
Indeed, the journey was successful, and nothing more dangerous happened to Nikolai Alexandrovich.
As for the fate of this masterpiece, it is as follows. Of the ten Easter eggs that Alexander III presented to Maria Feodorovna, only "The Memory of Azov" remained in Russia. The rest scattered around the world. It's a pity!
DELICATE PROBLEM
Under Nicholas II, the jeweler continues the Easter series. True, now instead of one he fulfills two separate orders - for the dowager and the reigning empress. Once Nikolai tried to clarify the details of the order, taking advantage of his royal position. Carl Faberge listened to him politely, but remained unperturbed: "Don't worry, Your Majesty will be satisfied." Nikolay raised an eyebrow in surprise and prepared for the picky acceptance of the order. He expected anything, anything. But the king-father was not ready for what the master had done this time.
It is known that in the family of Nicholas II, besides other problems, there was one, so to speak, of a delicate nature. Only girls were born from year to year. The birth of an heir became almost an obsession of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
The gallant Carl Fabergé guessed the wishes of the spouses with filigree precision. And on Easter 1902, the queen received the Clover egg - an airy structure made of an intricate weaving of golden stems, enamel leaves, sparkling diamond dew and cute ruby ribbons. But the main thing: the very desire of the Romanovs - the birth of a boy - was encrypted in the ornament. After a while, a miracle happened - Tsarevich Alexei was born.
Every year, the jeweler surprised more and more. At times it seemed that there was no limit to his invention and ingenuity. For example, in the year of the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, he made an egg with an exact copy of the express from gold, and even a clockwork one!
The egg "Moscow Kremlin" was also unique in its idea and virtuoso execution. The product itself was hidden behind the dome of the Assumption Cathedral on a luxurious stand - a model of the Kremlin.
MYSTERIOUS SACVOYAGE
But the rise of the great jeweler was interrupted by the revolution. The victorious people impudently pounced on the expropriators. The new government immediately remembered the Faberge empire. It was a sin to miss such wealth! Cheka officers managed to seize something in Faberge stores and workshops, but there were no significant treasures expected. So - a product for broad sale. It was possible to find out that the owner himself disappeared along with his masterpieces, which fit into a voluminous bag. But where is he?..
According to rumors, Carl Faberge left Russia either through the French or through the Belgian embassy. The legendary travel bag was seen there. But then all the threads broke off …
The Chekists tried to roughly search the buildings of foreign missions. In vain! It is known that Faberge himself and his descendants could not resume the glorious business in Europe and lived very modestly. Not a word about the bag. He sank into the water. Although from time to time products surface at auctions - presumably from the same suitcase. So it's too early to put an end to this mysterious story.
Sergey GOLUBEV