Fabergé Friday

It's Friday again! Amazing how fast the weeks go. Feels like I'm constantly writing these Fabergé posts. Oh well. Can't get enough of pretty things! And here are three more - three shirt studs, made around 1910!

The studs are made of gold. The front is covered in translucent white enamel over a guilloché sunburst pattern. In the middle sits a lapis lazuli cabochon. The whole thing is surrounded by reeds bound by two colored ribbons. The studs are 0.6'' (1.5 cm) in diameter, and they come in their original fitted holly wood box. For 14,500 USD they can be yours. You find them at John Atzbach Antiques.

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Fabergé Friday

First Fabergé egg for this year is one for the night-lovers: the "Twilight Egg", or the "Night Egg", from 1917!

This gold egg is covered in a mosaic of dark blue lapis lazuli, to make it look like the night sky - with little paillon (thin metal leaves) stars scattered here and there. In the front are two gold gates, fashioned to resemble wrought iron, held up by two pilasters of lapis Lazuli. When the gates are opened, they reveal a gold plate engraved with a garden view of Peterhof.

The back of the egg is decorated with an Imperial Eagle of lapis lazuli, under which the date "1917" is engraved in gold. According to experts this eagle, the gates and the big jewels may be later additions to the original lapis lazuli ground with the strs and the date - which are by Fabergé. It is also uncertain who this egg was made for, but it is very possible the receiver was one of the Imperial Family. As the top half of the egg can be opened up, a surprise has most probably once been part of the egg. This is now lost though.

In 1976 the "Twilight Egg" was sold by Christie's, Geneva, to a Herr Attinger, who was acting as an agent for a private person.