Marshall Records/Laurel Harris Antiques, Indianapolis, Ind.

Fabergé ‘Winter Egg’ Ices Previous Record with a $9.57 Million Price Tag

NEW YORK CITY – The exquisite Winter Egg, the rarest and most expensive Russian Imperial Easter egg produced by Carl Fabergé, jeweler to the Russian Imperial Family, realized $9,579,500 April 19 at Christie’s, shattering the previous world auction record for Fabergé (The Winter Egg realized $5.6 million at Christie’s Geneva in 1994).

The Winter Egg was acquired by an anonymous collector who bid via telephone against fierce competition in a packed salesroom.

Fabergé created a total of 50 Imperial eggs between the years 1885 and 1916 and the whereabouts of only 44 Imperial eggs are known. The majority are held in prestigious collections, such as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Kremlin, Moscow.

Christie’s also offered The Forbes Collection of Fabergé, one of the best-known collections of Fabergé works of art, which achieved a sale total of $5,927,476 and was 99 percent sold by value and 92 percent sold by lot.

The collection, assembled by Malcolm Forbes, achieved extraordinary prices; a highly important Imperial presentation snuff box sold for $834,500, and a unique silver model of a paddle steamer presented to the Tsarevich Aleksei in 1913 realized $779,500.