Nobel Ice (Fabergé egg)
Nobel Ice Fabergé egg | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Year delivered | 1914 |
Customer | Emanuel Nobel |
Recipient | Unknown |
Current owner | |
Individual or institution | Artie and Dorothy McFerrin |
Design and materials | |
Materials used | platinum |
Height | 70mm |
Surprise | watch |
The Nobel Ice Egg (/noʊˈbɛl/ noh-BEL), sometimes also referred to as the Snowflake egg, is a jewelled Fabergé 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. Unlike many of the eggs made in Fabergé's workshop, this egg is not considered an "imperial" egg and it was not given by a Russian Tsar to any Tsarina.
History
Franz Birbaum, Fabergé's head workmaster, recalls that Emanuel Nobel "was so generous in his presents that at times it seemed that this was his chief occupation and delight. Orders were constantly being made for him in the workshops and from time to time he came to have a look at them. Often he only decided for whom the present should be when the work was finished."
After the Russian Revolution, it was sold to the Parisian dealer A. A. Anatra, who subsequently sold it to Jacques Zolotnitzky, of A La Vieille Russie, in Paris. It was later sold to a North-American collector.
In 1994 it was sold at Christie's, in Geneva, for $220,000.[1]
The Nobel Ice egg's current owner are Artie and Dorothy McFerrin of Houston. It is on loan at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.[2]
References
![]() | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (May 2009) |
- ^ Berry, Heidi L. (May 19, 1994). "REDISCOVERED FABERGE EGGS ILLUMINATE GENEVA AUCTION". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ Ramit Plushnick-Masti (2013-03-18). "Houston couple puts Faberge collection on display". News.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
Notes
- H.C. Bainbridge, Peter Carl Fabergé (London, 1949) p. 58
- Birbaum, Franz, Memoirs, in St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller (1993) p. 454)
- Habsburg-Lothringen, Geza von, and Solodkoff, Alexander von, Fabergé Joaillier à la Cour de Russie (Fribourg, 1979) pp. 108, 118, 158, pl.141, p. 120, cat.69
- Snowman, A. Kenneth, The Art of Carl Fabergé (London, 1964) p. 113, pl.387
- Solodkoff, Alexander von (1984). 'History of the House of Fabergé', Masterpieces from the House of Fabergé. New York. p. 36.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Solodkoff, Alexander von, Fabergé (London, 1988) p. 47
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Miek's Fabergé Eggs Retrieved on 2016-05-29
- Vivian Swift, Alma Pihl's Designs for Fabergé in Magazine Antiques (Jan 1996) Retrieved on 2009-04-28