Eggs - General questions about the Eggs

Alex Sandro Aparecido Faria Prestes from Brazil, November 2008:

Many times you mentioned that some eggs were sold by the officials of the ANTIKVARIAT. I searched for this on many websites but I only found bookstores and antiques stores with this name. Could you please explain to me what Antikvariat means?

P.S. About me, my name is Alex Sandro Aparecido Faria Prestes, I'm 34 years old, work in an antiques fair since 1990 and I am the owner of a store. I am in love with antiques, especially jewels, so I am delighted with Fabergé.

Answer

Hi Alex,

Thank you for this question. I thought I had an explanation in the Fabergé Timeline, but somehow I missed it before. Here is your answer, Antikvariat and Antiquariat are both translations from the Russian word "Антиквариат".

(Source: The Hermitage Museum)
The Antiquariat was a Soviet organization set up in 1925 for the export and import of antiques and artistic valuables. It became an internal source for the receipt of hard currency for the country. Between 1929 and 1932 Antiquariat was actively engaged in the sale at foreign auctions of works of art from the museum fund and Soviet museums. The Hermitage archives contain correspondence on this subject: government orders, letters and telegrams. Read more...

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Christian Steener Eriksen from Denmark - November 2008:

The 1886 egg - is here the Hen Egg with Sapphire Pendant. I've seen on another site that the Lapis Lazuli egg is named as the 1886-egg. Is there a reason why you don't think that?

Answer
The "Timeline" of the Eggs used on this website is based mostly on archival evidence found in Russian archives. These archival letters and invoices are published in The Fabergé Easter Eggs, Tatiana Faberge, Lynette G. Proler, Valentin V. Skurlov, 1997.

For the year 1886 the invoice mentions a "Hen picking a sapphire egg out of a basket". The Cleveland Lapis Lazuli Egg is definitely not a hen picking an egg out of a basket and there is, for as much as we know now, no other place in the timeline for the Lapis Lazuli egg.

The same timeline is used in The Fabergé Eggs - A Retrospective Encyclopedia; by Will Lowes and Christel McCanless.

As visitors often ask me what books there are to start with learning about the Eggs, you now know the two "must haves".

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Page updated: January 1, 2009