| RosebudFabergé egg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year delivered | 1895 |
| Customer | Nicholas II |
| Recipient | Alexandra Feodorovna |
| Current owner | |
| Individual or institution | Viktor Vekselberg Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Year of acquisition | 2004 |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Michael Perchin |
| Surprise | A golden crown, with diamonds and rubies, and cabochon ruby pendant |
TheRosebud egg is ajewelledenameledEaster egg made byMichael Perchin under the supervision of the Russian jewellerPeter Carl Fabergé in 1895,[1] forNicholas II of Russia, who presented the egg to his wife, EmpressAlexandra Feodorovna.[1] It was the firstFabergé egg that Nicholas presented to Alexandra.
After the death ofAlexander III of Russia, his son,Nicholas marriedPrincess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who subsequently became Empress Alexandra of Russia, following the accession to the throne of her husband,Nicholas II of Russia.[2] Princess Alix missed therose garden of Rosenhöhe,Darmstadt, and so this egg reminded her of them during her firstEaster with her new husband.[1] The familiar yellow rose in 1895 was the yellow China tea rose that had been introduced by Parkes from China in 1824, re-bloomed in fall and was a staple of milder gardens than Saint Petersburg, where it was not hardy.[3] Yellow roses were the most valued ones in the Empress' native Germany.
The egg embodied Fabergé's embrace ofNeo-Classicism, in opposition to the dominance ofArt Nouveau in late 19th century contemporary design.[1] Fabergé charged 3,250 rubles for the egg.[1]
In 1917 the egg was confiscated by theRussian Provisional Government and later sold toEmanuel Snowman of the jewellersWartski around 1927.[4] It was owned by a certain Charles Parsons in the 1930s, and was lost for decades, amid rumours that it had been damaged in a marital dispute. It was this damage that helpedMalcolm Forbes identify the egg when he purchased it in 1985 from theFine Art Society in London. In 2004 it was sold as part of the Forbes Collection toViktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs from the collection, for almost $100 million.[5]
The egg is now part of the Victor Vekselberg Collection, owned by The Link of Times Foundation, and housed in theFabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
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The egg opens like a bonbonnière to reveal a yellow-enamelled rosebud, in which two surprises were originally contained; a miniature version of theImperial Crown of Russia with diamonds and twocabochon rubies and an egg-shapedruby pendant suspended from it.[4] The crown was a reference toAlexandra Feodorovna's new role as Empress of Russia, following the accession to the throne of her husband,Nicholas II of Russia.[2]
For decades, the surprises were considered to be lost, but they have been identified according to an article published in September 2021 inThe Burlington Magazine[6] and another one in theFabergé Research Newsletter Winter 2021. In the latter, two independent Fabergé researchers came separately to the same conclusion; they are the surprises contained in the so-calledLapis Lazuli egg owned by theCleveland Museum of Art.[7]
