Product Description

This is the story of Fabergé's Imperial Easter eggs – of their maker, of the tsars who commissioned them, of the middlemen who sold them and of the collectors who fell in love with them. It's a story of meticulous craftsmanship and unimaginable wealth, of lucky escapes and mysterious disappearances, and ultimately of greed, tragedy and devotion. Moreover, it is a story that mirrors the history of twentieth-century Russia – a satisfying arc that sees eggs made for the tsars, sold by Stalin, bought by Americans and now, finally, returned to post-communist Russia. There is also an intriguing element of mystery surrounding the masterpieces. Of the fifty 'Tsar Imperial' eggs known to have been made, eight are currently unaccounted for, providing endless scope for speculation and forgeries. This is the first book to tell the complete history of the eggs, encompassing the love and opulence in which they were conceived, the war and revolution that scattered them, and the collectors who preserved them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88709 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Bookseller
'A throughly engrossing and meticulous look at the coveted collectables'

Literary Review
'Faber recognises that the facts surrounding the eggs are more than a match for any myth.'

Sunday Telegraph
'They were the ultimate Easter eggs - extravagant ornamental gifts.'

Customer Reviews

A good read
A good read but too many irrelevant details for me. Personally I would have loved pictures of the beauty of the 'eggs'.