NEW YORK CITY - The Forbes Collection of Fabergé, which had been
scheduled to be sold at a Sotheby's auction on April 20-21, has
been sold privately to prominent Russian industrialist Victor
Vekselberg for an undisclosed amount.
Prior to returning to Russia, highlights from the collection,
including the fabled nine Imperial Easter Eggs, will be on public
exhibition at Sotheby's in New York. Sotheby's negotiated this
private transaction on behalf of the Forbes family.
"This is an unanticipated and exceptional outcome," said Bill
Ruprecht, president and chief executive officer of Sotheby's
Holdings, Inc. "We were very excited at the prospect of an
extraordinary auction and magnificent presale exhibition, but we
knew that this remarkable offer and the return of the Fabergé
Imperial Easter Eggs to Russia had to be taken very seriously.
The Imperial Fabergé Easter Eggs, as well as other objects from
the Forbes Collection, are among the most beautiful works of art
ever created, and we want to express our special thanks to Mr
Vekselberg for his agreement to have an exhibition of highlights
from this historic collection at Sotheby's in New York, so that
the public may have a final opportunity to view them prior to
their return to Russia."
Vekselberg, who acquired the collection, said: "The Fabergé Egg
Collection, purchased from the Forbes family by the foundation I
have established, represents perhaps the most significant example
of our cultural heritage outside Russia. The religious, spiritual
and emotional content captured by these Fabergé eggs touches upon
the soul of the Russian people. Upon learning that the Forbes
Collection was going to be auctioned, I knew immediately that
this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to give back to my country
one of its most revered treasures. I am honored to have this
privilege and to make this important collection available to the
Russian public."
The Forbes family commented on the private sale to Vekselberg,
stating: "Over 80 years ago, Fabergé's dazzling Imperial Easter
Eggs and other treasures were dispersed throughout the world. Our
father spent decades passionately bringing many of them together
again. Among his greatest pleasures was sharing this collection
both at the Forbes Galleries and in exhibitions around the world.
The family is delighted that the advent of a new era in Russia
has made possible the return of these extraordinary objects. It
is an astonishingly romantic ending to one of the great stories
in art history."
Only 50 Imperial Easter Eggs are known to have been created by
the House of Fabergé, and the collection acquired by Vekselberg
includes nine Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. They are the very
first Imperial Egg, the Hen Egg, which was commissioned by Tsar
Alexander III for his wife Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, and the last
Easter egg he commissioned, the Renaissance Egg. It also includes
the Rosebud Egg, which was the first egg the new tsar, Nicholas
II, commissioned for his wife Tsarina Alexandra. And, very
importantly, the collection includes one of the most spectacular
objects ever made by Fabergé -- the Coronation Egg, which
Nicholas II commissioned to present to his tsarina on Easter in
1897 to commemorate his coronation in Moscow. Also among the
Imperial Easter Eggs in this collection is the Fifteenth
Anniversary Egg, commissioned on the occasion of the 15th
anniversary of the coronation of Nicholas II. The four other
magnificent Imperial Easter Eggs in this historic collection are
The Lilies of the Valley Egg, the Cuckoo Egg, the Orange Tree Egg
and the Order of St George Egg.
