DESCRIPTION
The new Faberge Museum opened its doors to visitors in 2014 and it’s becoming a new must-see tourist spot in St Petersburg especially for those who are interested in jewelry.
The collection was started by Victor Vekselberg, who acquired the Faberge collection in 2004 during a closed auction from the descendants of American billionaire and the genius of publishing industry – Malcolm Forbes. Based on the acquisition of this extensive collection, it was decided to form a display of the Faberge Museum. Shuvalovsky Palace was chosen for the placement of the display. The restoration of the palace lasted for 7 years and cost nearly 1.2 billion dollars.
At the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries Fabergé was the official jewellery supplier of the Russian Tsars and aristocracy, as well as of the British Crown, Scandinavian, Greek and other European Courts and Eastern rulers. Faberge works are considered to be some of the most exquisite and perfect works of art on the planet.
The unique collection numbers over 4,000 exhibits.
Tour highlights:
14 famouns Easter Eggs designed by Faberge. This is the largest collection of Easter Eggs in the world. Among them 9 Easter eggs were commissioned by Alexander II and Nicolas II – two last Russian emperors.
Objets de fantaisie – jewellery which didn’t have any practical meaning. These includes miniature furniture, watering pots, medieval reliquaries and flowers. Kiss-me-quick is so ornate that it’s hardly distinguishable from the real flower.
The largest collection of guilloche enamel, which glitters with diversity of colours. Faberge enamellers developed 144 different colour shades.
Objects of art designed with the use of ancient Russian technique. One of them is Punch set made from champlevé enamelthat presents all kind of table sayings
Collection of paintings including Makovsky, Brullov, Aivosovsky, Polenov, Harlamov as well as Russian icons, some of which belonged to the Royal family.