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The Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden

Saturday, 24 May 2014 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  4 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Fabergé Museum is a museum located in the German spa city of Baden-Baden, dedicated to items made by the Russian jewellery firm Fabergé. It was opened in 9 May 2009 by Russian art collector Alexander Ivanov.

The museum’s collection numbers almost 700 items made by Fabergé. The most significant item in the museum’s collection is the Rothschild Fabergé egg, that was made as an engagement gift from Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild to her brother’s fiancé. Ivanov bought it at the auction house Christie’s in London on 28 November 2007, for £9 million because he thinks that it’s the “finest ever” made by Fabergé.

Besides the Rothschild Fabergé Egg, other items in the museum collection include a rare silver decanter in the form of a rabbit, and the last Fabergé Egg, the Karelian Birch egg made of Karelian birch with gold and diamonds for Easter 1917. Czar Nicholas II, however, was deposed before he could give it to his mother. When Ivanov first bought the Karelian egg, some experts resisted because its existence wasn’t known previously. Ivanov now has documents found in the Russian state archives proving the egg is genuine.

The Fabergé company was founded in St. Petersburg in 1842, and it was an official supplier to the Russian Imperial court from 1885 to 1917. It also supplied high-end luxury goods to the Russian and European aristocracy. Besides the czars, clients include the Queen of the United Kingdom, and the royal family of Siam (now Thailand). Fabergé was closed after the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, and its exquisite items were almost forgotten and no longer cherished. The company’s artworks became popular again in the 1960s with Western collectors, led by Malcolm Forbes. Prices rose to records in the early part of the 21st century thanks to Russians such as Ivanov who took a fancy to fine artworks that comprise their country’s heritage.

Ivanov said that one reason that he opened the museum in Germany was due to safety concerns. He told Britain’s Independent newspaper: “It’s very difficult [in Russia] because of all the administrative barriers […] You have to be indebted to someone, and you can never feel that your collection is safe – not from the state, not from bandits, not from anyone. In Germany we spend serious money on security of course, but at least you know that the state itself won’t do anything.”

Read more on Fabergé Museum and Wikipedia Fabergé Museum (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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