Fabergé Eggs is a series of jewelry that was created
between 1885 and 1917 for the Russian Imperial
family and private buyers. The first egg was ordered
from Carl Fabergé in 1885 by Alexander III as a gift
to his wife Maria Feodorovna in connection with their
twentieth wedding anniversary in November 1886.
The Emperor did not insist on a certain design of the
future jewelry masterpiece, Carl Fabergé and his
artisans were free to choose creative solutions and
material, but he had a requirement: the egg should
contain a surprise.
When the egg was presented, the Empress was so
impressed and pleased that Alexander III had no
choice but to order another one from Carl Fabergé for
Orthodox Easter. Subsequently, Alexander III made an
order every year. After the death of Alexander III in
November 1894, this tradition was continued by his
son Nicholas II, who ordered an Easter gift from
Fabergé, not only to his mother, but also to his wife
Alexandra Feodorovna. In the period from 1885 to
1917, approximately fifty-six eggs were produced for
the Imperial family, of which only forty-seven are
now well recorded in various private and institutional
collections. Soon after the revolution, the contents of
the Romanov palaces were confiscated by the
Bolsheviks. Most of the Fabergé eggs, along with
masses of Imperial gold, silver, jewels and icons were
inventoried, packed in crates and taken to the
Kremlin Armory. Later, Stalin began trading the
Russian Imperial legacy for desperately needed
Western currency to support his new regime and now
only ten remain in the Kremlin

The genius behind a pair of the most
celebrated Imperial Easter eggs was
Alma Theresia Pihl (1888-1976), one
of two women who worked as designers
at the House of Fabergé at the beginning
of the 20th century. She came from a
long line of celebrated artisans
employed by Fabergé; her grandfather
was head jeweler and her uncle a
renowned goldsmith. She was the niece
of the other female designer, Hilma
Alina Holmström

The Winter Egg, Fabergé
Work master: Albert Holmstrom,
Designer: Alma Pihl 1913
Rock crystal, gold, platinum,
chrysolite, diamonds.
St Petersburg, 1913
Given by Emperor Nicholas II to his
mother Dowager Empress Maria
Feodorovna for Easter 1913

In 2001, the Imperial Winter Egg was sold
for a record price ($9,600,000) at the
Christie's auction in New York. This is the
most original of the surviving Easter eggs
holding a surprise made by the firm of Carl
Fabergé.
It is now in the private collection of the Emir
of Qatar
The egg is 102 mm (4.0 in) high

The exterior of the egg resembles frost and ice crystals
formed on clear glass. It is studded with 1,660 diamonds,
and is made from quartz, platinum, and orthoclase
Enclosing at the top a cabochon moonstone painted on the
reverse with the date 1913

The thinly carved transparent body of the
egg finely engraved on the interior to
simulate ice crystals, the outside further
engraved and applied with rose-diamond
set platinum motif

The egg rests on a block
of rock crystal carved to
look like melting ice with
"rivulets' of diamonds.

The surprise is a platinum double-handled trellis work basket, set with rose-
diamonds and full of wood anemones, suspended from a platinum hook, each
flower realistically carved from a single piece of white quartz with gold wire stem
and stamens, the center set with a demantoid garnet, some carved half open or
in a bud, the leaves delicately carved in nephrite, emerging from a bed of gold
moss, the base of the basket engraved in Roman letters "Fabergé 1913".

The miniature surprise flower basket is studded with 1,378
diamonds and is made from platinum and gold, while the wood
anemones are made of white quartz. The flowers lie in gold moss.

Alma Theresia Pihl, the designer of the
Winter Egg, broke away from the
conventional elements to produce a
magical work of original creative genius

The
following
year,
Alma
designed
the
exquisite
Mosaic
Egg which
given to
the
Tsarina
Alexandra.
Her
mother-
in-law's
tapestry
was the
inspiration

The Mosaic Egg was a technically challenging project for the master
jewelers, led by Albert Holstrom, Alma's uncle. Precious metals such as
yellow gold and platinum were used. The pavé set gemstones varied
given the colors needed for the petit point look of the design. These
included diamonds, rubies, emerald, topaz, half pearls, moonstone as
well as enamel.
Gold, platinum, enamel, rose and brilliant diamonds, rubies, emeralds,
topaz, quartz, sapphires, garnets, moonstone 9.5 x 7.0 cm

This beautiful Easter Egg consists of
a system of yellow gold belts, to
which is applied a platinum
network partially pavé-set with
diamonds and colored gems,
including sapphires, rubies,
emeralds, topaz quartz and green
garnets in flower patterns. This
technique gives the look of petit
point tapestry work, partly
completed. It is divided into five
oval panels set with half-pearls
within lines of opaque white
enamel. Five brilliant diamonds are
set at each intersection.

Crafted mainly of platinum, each setting for the stones was
painstaking cut out of a platinum sheet by hand to form a mesh.
Then, stones were polished and calibrated to fit each individual spot
in the egg

The artisans cut each of the
square holes by hand and
each gemstone had to be
calibré-cut in such a way
that it would perfectly fit
into its designated space of
approximately 1mm x 1mm

The top of the egg is capped with a cabochon moonstone as the finial,
underneath is the monogram of the Tsarina.

The surprise concealed inside and held
in place by two gold clips, consists of
a jeweled and enameled miniature
frame painted with the profiles of the
five Imperial children, surmounted by
an Imperial crown set with rose
diamonds. The reverse is enameled
with a pale sepia basket of flowers
around which the year 1914 and the
names of the five children. The oval
base with vase-shaped white enamel
stem is set with rose-cut diamonds,
emeralds, and two suspended pearls.
The Egg is engraved with Fabergé's
name in Cyrillic characters

During the dark days following
the bloody revolution, the egg
would be confiscated by the
provisional government. In order
to raise fund, the egg would be
sold by the Antikvariat in 1933
for 5,000 Roubles.
The same year, the egg would
find a new home on May 22.
It was purchased by King George
V from Cameo Corner for £250
(about £16,500 today,) or “half
cost” as noted in the ledger. King
George likely purchased the egg
for Queen Mary’s birthday on
May 26.
The egg currently resides in the
Royal Collection Trust

The Nobel Ice Egg, sometimes also referred to as the Snowflake egg, is
a jewelled enamelled Fabergé Easter egg made under the supervision
of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé, for the Swedish-Russian oil
baron and industrialist Emanuel Nobel between 1913 and 1914.

Commissioned by Emanuel
Nobel, the Nobel Ice Egg
was created in platinum,
silver and seed-pearls. It
not only stems from the
same inspiration as The
1913 Winter Egg, but also
shares the same technique
in the execution of the
hinges within graduated
borders
Alma Theresia Pihl-Klee (1888 - 1976)

The Nobel Ice Egg was designed by Alma Theresia Pihl

Like the Winter Egg and the Mosaic Egg, the Nobel Ice Egg was designed by Alma Theresia Pihl. The tragic events of 1917 forced
the artist to stop her work and put an end to her brilliant career. The firm of Fabergé and the company where his husband
worked, closed their St. Petersburg offices. Most of the workers immediately moved to Finland, but Alma's husband wanted to stay
in Russia to look after his property. Subsequently, this decision has repeatedly turned into trouble, i.e. up to serious threats to the
life of Nikolai. In an effort to escape from the devastation, hoping to return at least some part of the former quiet life, in the
summer of 1921, with the support of Maxim Gorky, Nikolai's regular client, the families of Klee and Holmström managed to get
permission to leave Petrograd and move to their native Finland, which by that time has ceased to be a part of the Russian Empire.

Twenty-four years she taught fine
arts, but none of the wards knew
about her past. Until the end of her
life, she remained modest and quiet
woman for the villagers. No one knew
that she was one of the best
goldsmiths of her time in her former
life and worked for the world famous
Carl Fabergé, and she managed to
design about two thousand precious
products in her short career.
In 1948, together with her husband,
Alma moved to Helsinki. The only
person, to whom the former designer
a few years before her death revealed
the truth about herself, was her
beloved niece Lydia. Alma Theresa Pihl
left this world on July 11, 1976 at
the age of 87.

Today, jewelry masterpieces created according to the sketches of Alma
Pihl are estimated at millions of euros and occasionally appear at the
world's leading auctions. Sketches in Alma's albums dedicated to the
Winter Series and now owned by the company of Wartski give an idea
of how great was the power of her talent.
Snowflake pendant
60,000 GPB

Faberge snowflake
design by Alma
Pihl
Palais Royal Hong
Kong

A rock crystal Red Cross ‘ice pendant,’ designed by Alma Pihl and
made by workmaster Albert Holmström, fetched a mid-estimate
CHF50,400

A Fabergé platinum, gold and diamond brooch,
workmaster Albert Holmström, designed by Alma Pihl
Fabergé, a jewelled platinum and
rock-crystal pendant,
design Alma Pihl
Sold 187,800 €

A Fabergé snowflake pendant with red cross,
designed by Alma Pihl
A Fabergé platinum, rock crystal and diamond ice
crystal pendant designed by Alma Pihl

1912: Melting Ice Pendant
Design Alma Pihl,
Workshop Albert Holmström
Provenance the Nobel Family

A Fabergé platinum, gold and diamond brooch, workmaster Albert
Holmström, designed by Alma Pihl (55,000 €)

Snowflake brooch Sold 40,700 €

Mosaic Brooch, ca. 1913
Christie’s London, November
29, 2021
(Sold 412, 000 euros)

Sound: Tarja - You Would Have Loved This; I Walk Alone
Text & Pictures: Internet
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Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu
https://www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda
https://ma-planete.com/michaelasanda
2023