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Easter is the most joyful celebration of the Orthodox faith in Russia... On Easter morning in 1885, the Czar of all Russia offered his wife a simple token of hope and rebirth: a delicately crafted white-enameled egg with a golden yolk inside. Within the yolk was a golden hen, and concealed within the hen was a diamond miniature of the royal crown in a tiny ruby egg. The Czarina was so enchanted by the gift that the Czar issued a standing order to the young Imperial Jeweler who had created it. Peter Carl Fabergé would produce an Imperial Easter Egg for his Empress every year - until the fall of the Romanov dynasty.
Year by year, the Imperial Eggs reached new heights of invention and extravagance, expressions in miniature of the life of imperial privilege. But most Russians had no time for toys. Hopeless wars, famine, disease and despair undermined the fabric of faith the Czar's people once had in the divine right and benevolence of the monarchy. Ultimately, these masterfully crafted objets de fantasie would become painful reminders of the tragic events to come.
Fabergé created fifty Imperial Eggs. Ten are in the Kremlin Armoury Museum; most others now reside in museums and private collections in Europe and the United States. Eight are still missing. Collectors have paid millions for an individual Egg. But the true worth of the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs lies in the very personal glimpse they provide into the lives of the Romanovs, the joys and achievements of a family at the crossroads of history.
Look for lots more information about the Fabergé eggs - including photographs, expanded stories, interviews with experts, educational resources and behind-the-scenes adventures on location with the producers - here at PBS.ORG when Faberge Eggs: Mementos of a Doomed Dynasty premieres on Thursday, November 18 at 8:00 PM (check local listings).
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