Peter Carl Faberge. Legacy of a Fallen Dynasty
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Ñ ñàéòà "Perspectives (BYU): Student Journal of Germanic and Slavic Studies, Brigham Young University" - Caleb Bailey http://germslav.byu.edu/

PETER CARL FABERGE. LEGASY OF A FALLEN DYNASTY
CALEB BAILEY

In evaluating how the West perceives Russian culture and artistic heritage, the jeweled eggs of Faberge will always be considered. However, as the Western World begins to understand Russian history, much of the intrigue and significance of these creations is lost. Although each egg represents a masterpiece of fine metal and jewels, they take on a much deeper significance when examined in the context of the last days of the Romanov Dynasty, a time of turmoil that played an important part in the formation of the current Russian culture and national identity. Indeed, these eggs serve not only as mementos of fallen royalty, but they also form an artistic timeline of the history leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution and the assassination of the royal Romanov family in 1918.

Easter is the most significant holiday for the Russian Orthodox Church. Every year people prepare hard-boiled eggs and go to churches to have them blessed, which they then use as gifts in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection. The Romanov family was no exception. First the czar, Alexander III, followed by his son, Nicholas II, commissioned a Faberge egg to be given each year as an Easter gift to the empress.

Peter Carl Faberge was born on May 30, 1846, to Gustav and Charlotte Faberge in Saint Petersburg. Although Russian-born, Faberge was of French Huguenot descent. After having fled French Protestant persecutions following, his family eventually ended up in Russia. Faberge’s father began working as a goldsmith and jeweler in the majestic imperial city of Saint Petersburg, and in 1842, he opened a small shop and started doing business. Carl Faberge was educated in his father’s profession and, in 1872, took over the family business, the House of Faberge.

Gradually Faberge’s work became increasingly noteworthy until it caught the eye of the empress, Maria Fedorovna. In 1885, Alexander III commissioned Faberge to create an Easter surprise for his wife. This first egg was a success. Although the outside appeared rather simple, a plain egg of white enameled gold, the inside contained a surprise: a golden yolk cradling a golden chicken in which was nested a miniature replica of the crown with a ruby hanging inside. The czarina was so delighted by the gift that the czar appointed Faberge as “Supplier to the Court of His Majesty,” giving him an open commission to create an equally fitting Easter gift for his wife each year. The only stipulation was that the gift be unique and contain some surprise. “In the famous imperial Easter eggs he used elements of architecture, sculpture, painting, pictures, and all the wealth of world jewelry” ( Ckurlov 42). Thus began the tradition of the Faberge eggs, which continued not only until Alexander’s untimely death in 1894, but ultimately until the fall of the Romanovs.

After his father’s death, Nicholas II was left to manage the affairs of state. He was twenty-five, and relatively inexperienced with political matters. In fact, his father had shown an open disdain for his son’s abilities, once remarking, “Have you ever tried to discuss anything of consequence with him? He is still absolutely a child!” (Treasures). Nicholas decided merely to keep with his father’s policy of “limited ideals of order, service, and tradition” as evidenced in his statement: “I shall maintain the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as my unforgettable late father” (Treasures). Nicholas II renewed his father’s commission for the Easter eggs. He requested one more egg for his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna, a member of the German nobility, in addition to the egg for his mother. That year Faberge presented the dowager empress with the Twelve Monograms Egg, where the late Czar’s emblem is set against a deep blue background. For the new empress he created the Rosebud egg: inside were a yellow rosebud to remind her of her homeland and a small imperial crown and pendant, symbolic of her new life and responsibilities in Russia.