Fabergé Egg made for Russian royalty sells for record $30.2m at auction – National
A crystal and diamond Fabergé egg was built for a Russian family before it was sold by the Revolution Change Records on Tuesday as it sold at auction for 22.9 million pounds).
The winter egg, which has been compared to the iconic Mona Lisa, was just one of seven remaining ovoids in private hands, Christie’s said at the London auction.
The 4-inch (10-centimeter) long egg is made of carved crystal, covered in a delicate stoneflake motif made of platinum and 4,500 small diamonds. It opens to reveal a small removable cup of bejeweled quartz flowers symbolizing spring.
A molded winter egg is on display at Chrisie’s auction rooms in London, Thursday, November 20, 2025. It is expected to sell more than 20 million pounds in the UK at the sale on December 2.
AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth
The sale price, which includes the buyer’s premium, included the $18.5 million paid at Christie’s auction in 2007 at Christie’s auction for another Faberchild Banking egg.
CRAFTMAN PETET PETER CARL FAFERGÉ and his company created more than 50 eggs for the royal family in Russia between 1885 and 1917, each one unique and containing a hidden surprise. Czar Alexander III started the tradition of presenting an egg to his wife each Easter. His successor, Nicholas II, gave his wife a gift and his mother a gift.
Get Complete World News
For news that impacts Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Czar Nicholas II commissioned an egg from his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Foodorovna, as an Easter present in 1913. It was one of two eggs created by feminist designer Alma Pihl; his other egg is owned by the British royal family.
The Romanov royal family ruled Russia for 300 years before the 1917 revolution was allowed. Nicholas and his family were killed in 1918.
Purchased by a London dealer for 450 kilograms when the Communist authorities arrested some of the Russian art treasures in the 1920s, the egg changed hands several times. It was believed lost for two decades until it was sold by Christie’s in 1994 for over 7 million Swiss Francs ($5.6 million at the time). It was sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million.
Every time an egg sells, it sets the world price for a faberé item, Christie’s said.
Margo oganesia, the head of the Russian art department of Russia, called the “Mona Lisa” of decorative arts, “the best example of art and design.
There are 43 surviving Impergé eggs, most of which are in museums, Chrisie said.
& Copy 2025 Canadian machine
