In 1917, the Russian Revolution brought the Romanov dynasty to an end. As the empire crumbled, 50 imperial Fabergé eggs – symbols of Russian craftsmanship at its height – were scattered across the world. Most have since entered museum collections; some remain missing, and a few still circulate in the market.
One of the most celebrated, the Winter Egg, went under the hammer on 2 Dec at Christie’s London, fetching £22.9 million (US$30.2 million) including premium and setting a new auction record for any work by Fabergé. The seller is reportedly the royal family of Qatar.
Commissioned by Emperor Nicholas II in 1913 as an Easter gift for Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the egg was designed by Alma Pihl, Fabergé’s famed female workmaster. It has now broken the Fabergé auction record three times.
Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang
Lot 7 | Fabergé | An imperial Winter Egg, designed by Alma Theresia Pihl, workmaster Albert Holmström (Auction record for a work by Fabergé)
Executed in 1913 in St. Petersburg
Height: 14.2 cm (with base); 8.2 cm (the jewelled platinum basket)
Provenance (Supplemented by The Value):
- Commissioned to Fabergé by Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918) as an Easter gift to his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), St Petersburg, 13 April 1913 (24,600 roubles)
- Collection of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Anichkov Palace, St Petersburg, between 1913-1917
- Sent by the Provisional Government to the Kremlin Armoury, Moscow, for safekeeping in September 1917
- Selected by the Special Commission in Kremlin and transferred to Gokhran, Moscow, in 1922
- With Wartski, London, acquired in the Soviet Union between 1929-1933 (£450)
- Acquired by Napier Sturt, 3rd Baron Alington (1896-1940) in 1934 (£1,500)
- Collection of Sir Bernard Eckstein (1894-1948)
- Property of the Late Sir Bernard Eckstein; Sotheby's, London, 8 February 1949, lot 128 (£1,870)
- Collection of Arthur Bryan Ledbrook (1895-1974)
- Property of a Trust; Christie's, Geneva, 16 November 1994, lot 464 (CHF 7,263,500, world record price for a Fabergé item sold at auction)
- The Winter Egg by Carl Fabergé; Christie’s, New York, 19 April 2002, lot 150 (US$9,579,500, world record price for a Fabergé item sold at auction)
Expected to fetch in the region of £20,000,000
Hammer Price: £19,500,000
Sold: £22,895,000
Widely considered one of Fabergé’s most inventive creations, the Winter Egg was designed to evoke the transition from winter to spring – a theme closely tied to the symbolism of Easter, celebrated in March or April in Russia.
Carved from rock crystal, the egg is engraved on the inside with frost patterns, while the exterior is applied with platinum snowflakes set with rose-cut diamonds, catching the light like ice on glass.
It rests on a rock crystal base shaped to resemble a melting block of ice – irregular, almost formless, yet perfectly cradling the egg as though freshly lifted from the frozen River Neva. At the top, a cabochon moonstone inscribed with the year 1913 marks the date it was presented by Nicholas II to his mother.
Inside, the egg opens to reveal a platinum basket of wood anemones, suspended like a locket. The flowers – among the first to bloom as snow recedes – are carved from white quartz, rising from a bed of gold moss, with demantoid garnet stems and gold-wire stamens.
Though jewellery-making was traditionally dominated by men, the Winter Egg was designed by Alma Pihl (1888–1976) – a largely self-taught artist who became Fabergé’s most celebrated female designer. She came from a Finnish family deeply embedded in the firm: her grandfather, father, aunt, uncle, and brother all worked for Fabergé.
Pihl joined the company at 20, initially tasked with painting meticulous watercolours of existing pieces for the archive. But in her spare time, she sketched her own designs. One of these caught the eye of her uncle, Albert Holmström, a Fabergé workmaster, who recognised her talent and brought her into his workshop.
She went on to design two imperial eggs: the Winter Egg, executed by Holmström in 1913, and the Mosaic Egg of 1914, now in the British Royal Collection.
Alma Pihl and the Mosaic Egg of 1914
Nicholas II had only two requirements for Fabergé’s Easter gifts: they had to be surprising and unique. The radically different styles of the Winter and Mosaic eggs reflect that brief exactly.
The Winter Egg’s snowflake motif was said to be inspired by a moment at her workbench, when she glanced through a frost-covered window and saw ice crystals forming “like a garden of exquisite frozen flowers.”
The Mosaic Egg is made from platinum and gold, inlaid with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, yellow sapphires, and garnets, forming an intricate floral pattern.
Inside is a miniature ivory plaque depicting the emperor’s five children, topped with a tiny replica of Catherine the Great’s crown. The British Royal Collection calls it “technically one of the most sophisticated and extraordinary of Fabergé’s Imperial Easter Eggs.”
The Mosaic Egg is decorated with miniature portraits of the royal family
The “surprise” inside the Winter Egg
Between 1885 and 1916, Fabergé created 50 imperial Easter eggs for two Russian emperors. The first ten were commissioned by Alexander III; the remaining forty by Nicholas II, who each year gifted one to his mother and one to his wife.
Of the 50, 44 are known to survive. Six remain unaccounted for – presumed lost or destroyed in the upheaval of the Russian Revolution. Today, most of the surviving eggs are held in museum collections across Russia, the United States, and Germany:
- Moscow Kremlin Museums – 10 eggs
- Fabergé Museum, Germany – 9 eggs
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, USA – 5 eggs
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York – 3 eggs
- Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, USA – 2 eggs
- Cleveland Museum of Art, USA – 1 egg
The Winter Egg was purchased in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II for 24,600 rubles – a staggering sum at the time. For comparison, an average Russian worker earned just 20 to 30 rubles a month, a skilled labourer 70 to 120, and an army captain around 90 to 100.
Left: Emperor Nicholas II with his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and King Edward VII (left); right: The original Fabergé invoice for the Winter Egg
Imperial jewels in the premises of the Currency Administration of the People’s Commissariat of Finance in Moscow, including the Winter Egg (right) and its “surprise” (left)
After the October Revolution, the Winter Egg was sold by the young Soviet regime to a British jeweller at a time when the state was in desperate need of convertible currency. It later passed through British aristocratic hands before reappearing in 1994 at Christie’s Geneva, where it sold for CHF 7.26 million (around US$5.6 million) and set a new record for any Fabergé piece at the time. The buyer was reportedly an American collector.
In 2002, the egg resurfaced at Christie’s New York, where it broke its own record, achieving US$9.57 million. The buyer was the Qatari royal family.
That record stood until 2007, when the Rothschild egg with a clock – made for the famed banking family and not part of the imperial series – sold at Christie’s London for £8.98 million (around US$18.5 million).
When the Winter Egg returned to Christie’s London on 2 December, bidding opened at £17 million. After five bids, auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang brought the hammer down at £19.5 million, with a final price of £22.895 million (around US$30.2 million) including premium. The buyer, a man in the room holding paddle 655, made the Winter Egg the most expensive Fabergé piece ever sold at auction – for the third time.
François Curiel, then global head of jewellery, took the rostrum at Christie's Geneva in 1994
The Rothschild Egg by Fabergé | Sold for £8,980,500 in 2007 at Christie’s London
Founded in 1842 by Gustav Fabergé, the House of Fabergé rose to prominence as the jeweller of choice for the Russian imperial family and European aristocracy during the twilight of the empire.
Following the revolution, the brand moved operations to France, remaining under the management of Fabergé family members. By the mid-20th century, it had changed ownership multiple times, and at one point ceased jewellery production altogether, shifting its focus to perfumes, fashion, and haircare.
In August 2023, gemstone supplier Gemfields sold Fabergé for US$50 million to SMG Capital, an American investment firm owned by Russian billionaire Sergei Mosunov.
While the winning bidder for the Winter Egg remains anonymous, speculation suggests they may be from Russia or the United States. The largest known private collector of imperial Fabergé eggs today is Alexander Ivanov, founder of the Fabergé Museum in Germany, which holds nine imperial eggs – all acquired by Ivanov himself.
New editions of the Fabergé egg are available in the range of HK$600,000
A selection of Fabergé eggs in the Fabergé Museum
Lot 22 | Fabergé | A hardstone model of a street painter, modeller Boris Fredman Cluzel
Executed in 1916 in Petrograd
Scratched inventory number: 25724
Height: 14.6 cm
Provenance (Supplemented by The Value):
- Emanuel Nobel (1859-1932)
- Private Swedish Collection; Christie's, London, 25 November 2003, lot 83 (£845,250)
Estimate: £1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Hammer Price: £1,200,000
Sold: £1,514,000
Fabergé’s hardstone carvings are a lesser-known but no less remarkable facet of the house’s artistry. Whimsical, lifelike, and exquisitely detailed, these miniature sculptures were carved from semi-precious stones sourced mainly from the Urals and Siberia. Only around sixty were produced between 1908 and 1916 – making them nearly as rare as the imperial Easter eggs.
The present street painter figure is among Fabergé’s most imaginative, cleverly assembled from a vivid mix of materials: sapphire eyes, the face and hands of cacholong, the cap and boots of jasper, the shirt of purpurine, and the trousers of lapis lazuli. He holds two silver-mounted brushes of lapis lazuli and rhodonite over his right shoulder, with a jasper bucket on his back with a wirework silver handle.
The sale featured 48 exceptional works by Fabergé, all from a single royal collection. Only four went unsold, resulting in a 91.6% sell-through rate and a total of £27.8 million (around US$35.7 million).
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 13 | Fabergé | A jewelled gold-mounted nephrite miniature model of a sleigh
Executed circa 1890 in St. Petersburg
Scratched inventory numbers: 52381 and 9297
Length: 15.2 cm
Provenance:
- With A La Vieille Russie, New York
- Donna Simonetta Colonna, Duchess di Cesarò (1922-2011)
- Property of Donna Simonetta Colonna, Duchess di Cesarò; Sotheby's, London, 20 November 2003, lot 109
Estimate: £350,000 - 450,000
Hammer Price: £580,000
Sold: £736,600
Lot 48 | Fabergé | A design album from the workshop of Henrik Wigström
Executed in 1911-1916 in St. Petersburg
43 x 32 cm
Provenance:
- With Wartski, London
Estimate: £500,000 - 800,000
Hammer Price: £400,000
Sold: £508,000
Lot 42 | Fabergé | A guilloché enamel two-colour gold-mounted bonbonnière
Executed in 1899-1903 in St. Petersburg
Height: 4.6 cm (without the stand)
Provenance:
- Collection of Lansdell K. Christie (1903-1965)
- With A La Vieille Russie, New York
- The Forbes Collection
- Important Works of Art by Carl Fabergé from the Forbes Collection; Christie's, New York, 19 April 2002, lot 112
Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000
Hammer Price: £240,000
Sold: £304,800
Lot 4 | Fabergé | A jewelled and gold-mounted hardstone model of a cockerel
Executed circa 1911 in St. Petersburg
Height: 8.2 cm
Provenance:
- Emanuel Nobel (1859-1932)
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, Geneva, 11 May 1982, lot 322
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 11 April 2003, lot 121
Estimate: £50,000 - 70,000
Hammer Price: £200,000
Sold: £254,000
Lot 1 | Fabergé | An imperial gem-set and guilloché enamel two-colour gold-mounted bell-push
Executed in 1899-1903 in St. Petersburg
Scratched inventory number: 2466
Height: 8.2 cm
Provenance:
- Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), purchased from the St Petersburg branch of Fabergé on 17 December 1899 for 130 roubles
- Imperial and Royal Presents; Sotheby's, London, 24 November 2008, lot 20
Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000
Hammer Price: £140,000
Sold: £177,800
Lot 12 | Fabergé | An imperial guilloché enamel gold-mounted nephrite writing set
Executed in 1899-1908 in Moscow
Scratched inventory number: 28257
Length: 16.5 cm (the plume holder)
Provenance:
- Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), purchased from the St Petersburg branch of Fabergé on 13 June 1906 for 300 roubles
- With Wartski, London
Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000
Hammer Price: £140,000
Sold: £177,800
Lot 6 | Fabergé | A jewelled Kalgan jasper model of an elephant
Executed circa 1900 in St. Petersburg
Length: 6 cm
Provenance:
- Princess Galitzine (probably Irene Galitzine (1916-2006))
- Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, Zurich, 19 November 1976, lot 244
- Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 27 May 2004, lot 200
Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000
Hammer Price: £100,000
Sold: £127,000
Lot 2 | Fabergé | An imperial jewelled and guilloché enamel gold-mounted bowenite gum pot
Executed in 1899-1903 in St. Petersburg
Height: 6.6 cm
Provenance:
- Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), purchased from the St Petersburg branch of Fabergé on 3 January 1901 for 80 roubles
- With Wartski, London
Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000
Hammer Price: £55,000
Sold: £69,850
Lot 35 | Fabergé | A jewelled guilloché enamel and rock crystal gold-mounted parasol handle
Executed circa 1890 in St. Petersburg
Height: 12 cm
Provenance:
- Probably acquired by Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton (1864-1932), and thence by descent
- Property of an English nobleman; Sotheby's, London, 1 December 2015, lot 406
Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000
Hammer Price: £70,000
Sold: £88,900
Lot 27 | Fabergé | A gem-set silver bell-push in the form of a cat
Executed in 1908-1917 in St. Petersburg
Height: 7.3 cm
Provenance:
- Property of a Danish Collector; Sotheby's, New York, 1 December 1998, lot 300
Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000
Hammer Price: £45,000
Sold: £57,150
Lot 9 | Fabergé | A necklace of thirteen jewelled, gold, silver and guilloché enamel egg pendants
Late 19th / early 20th century
Length: 49.5 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired by the grandmother of the previous owner
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 19 October 2001, lot 125
Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000
Hammer Price: £24,000
Sold: £30,480
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie's London
Sale: The Winter Egg and Important Works by Fabergé from a Princely Collection
Date: 2 December 2025
Number of Lots: 48
Sold: 44
Unsold: 4
Sale Rate: 91.6%
Sale Total: £27,803,964