Faberge. Lost and Found

On 6 December 2004 an exhibition opened in the Anteroom of the Winter Palace featuring a collection of masterpieces by Karl Faberge which was assembled by the American media magnate Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) over the course of several decades. This collection is unequalled in the world given its diversity in typology and genre, and the supreme quality of the works, many of which memorialize specific events. The exhibition has been organized jointly by the State Hermitage and the Bond of Time Cultural-Historical Foundation.

The collection is exhibited in its country of origin thanks to Russian entrepreneur Victor Vekselberg, chairman of the board of OAO SUAL Holding, which purchased it from Malcolm Forbes' heirs and has made it available for viewing by Russians.

At the heart of the collection are nine Easter eggs, which constitute the second largest group (after the Armory in the Moscow Kremlin) of the famous paschal surprises which emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II gave to their august spouses. In 1917 they were taken away to Moscow and during the 1920's and '30's many were sold abroad. Some of the works of jewelry were acquired by Armand Hammer and Emmanuel Snowman, head of Wartski, London. Ten of the imperial Easter eggs remained unsold and turned up in the collection of the Armory.

After the Second World War, there were several exhibitions of works by Faberge in the USA and the jewelry master's admirers there grew in number. During the 1950's the Hammer Gallery began to sell works by Faberge quite actively. Later there were sales by antiques dealers, chiefly Wartski and A la Vieille Russie (New York), owned by the Schaeffer brothers.

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, editor-in-chief and president of Forbes, Inc., became one of the biggest collectors of works by Faberge. At the start of the 21st century, the Forbes Magazine gallery on 5th Avenue in New York displayed nine imperial Easter eggs, several eggs manufactured for other clients, and over 300 different works from the Faberge atelier. With the exception of some items sold earlier, this collection was presented by Malcolm Forbes' sons for sale at the auction house Sotheby's. However, as a result of agreements reached between the Forbes family and representatives of the vice president of the Russian-British alliance TNK-BP, Victor Vekselberg, the collection became Vekselberg's property, bypassing the proposed sale at auction.

The exhibition consists of 26 items, including 15 Easter eggs, nine of which belonged to the imperial family. Besides the imperial Easter eggs, there are precious eggs which were owned by others, as well as a number of articles of jewelry from the Karl Faberge atelier which serve to broaden our understanding of this outstanding master jeweler.

The exhibition has already been shown in the Museums of the Moscow Kremlin (May - July, 2004) and in the Regional Museum of Ekaterinburg (September - November, 2004).

The curator of the exhibition is M.N. Lopato, director of the sector of artistic works in metal and stone, State Hermitage, and doctor of art history.

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At the press-conference at the Hermitage Theater

Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky

Vladimir Voronchenko, Chairman of the Board of the Bond of Time Foundation

Andrei Shtorkh, Official representative of the Board of the Bond of Time Foundation

Marina Lopato, curator of the exhibition

At the exhibitions

At the exhibitions