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FABERGE` EGGS RETURN TO RUSSIA

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Bianca
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« on: April 23, 2009, 04:09:55 pm »











                                                      Faberge Eggs To Return To Russia
 
 

 
Thursday,
5 February, 2004,
20:47 GMT 

BBC NEWS









Eight of the 50 eggs made for the tsars have never been found

A Russian millionaire has bought the world's second-largest collection of Faberge eggs which was scheduled to
be auctioned by Sotheby's in April.

Oil and gas industrialist Victor Vekselberg bought the entire Forbes collection of nine eggs and other items,
valued at about $90m.

He hopes to take the tsarist treasures to post-Communist Russia by Easter.

Only the Kremlin has more eggs - 10 - out of the 50 created by jeweller Carl Faberge for Russia's imperial
family.

Confirming that Sotheby's had negotiated the sale for an undisclosed sum, a spokeswoman for the auction
house in New York said it had "happened very quickly" but had been "a very serious offer that the Forbes family accepted".
« Last Edit: April 23, 2009, 04:11:46 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2009, 04:12:29 pm »








Sellers 'delighted'



The intricately designed eggs, about 13cm (5in) tall and made of precious metals and gems, include the Coronation Egg, which features the coach that Empress Alexandra rode into Moscow in 1897.

 
 The religious, spiritual and emotional content captured by these Faberge eggs touches upon the soul of the Russian people





Victor Vekselberg 



The Forbes publishing family said it was "delighted that the advent of a new era in Russia [had] made possible the return of these extraordinary objects".

Mr Vekselberg said the Forbes collection represented "perhaps the most significant example of our cultural heritage outside Russia".

He told the BBC that the eggs would be brought back from the US by April.

He described them as priceless and said he was overjoyed to be returning such a significant collection to Russia.

"The religious, spiritual and emotional content captured by these Faberge eggs touches upon the soul of the Russian people," he said.

It was not immediately clear what the industrialist, who is chairman of the board of directors of investment and business development company Renova, planned to do with the collection.

However, Russia's most powerful museums have begun staking their claims to them.
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Bianca
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« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2009, 04:14:20 pm »










Abramovich contrast




The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow says politicians and public have praised Mr Vekselberg for his patriotism.

While denying he was deliberately trying to curry favour, he said nonetheless that he hoped the "right people" would approve.

His purchase is in marked contrast to Roman Abramovich's buy-up of English football club Chelsea, which dismayed many Russians keen to revive the cash-strapped domestic game.

The eggs, created for the last two Russian emperors, Alexander III and Nicholas II, were dispersed around the world after the 1917 Revolution, many of them sold off by the Bolsheviks.

The Forbes eggs and the best of the other 180 Faberge pieces in the collection are due to be exhibited at Sotheby's in New York before they are taken to Russia.



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« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2009, 04:15:33 pm »









                    CZAR'S FABERGE EASTER EGGS; "GOOD EGG: RUSSIAN BOUGHT BACK BIT OF HISTORY"



                   Viktor Vekselberg born 46 years ago in a tiny Soviet town on the Ukrainian-Polish border 





    By Linda Hales,
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Washington Post,
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, March 13, 2004;

NEW YORK -- In the august salons of Sotheby's on Thursday, industrialist Viktor Vekselberg presided over a private party that he could not have imagined during his youth in a country that no longer exists. The billionaire oil and gas baron from Moscow, born 46 years ago in a tiny Soviet town on the Ukrainian-Polish border, made headlines last month by purchasing $100 million worth of Faberge decorative arts. The highlight was nine Easter eggs made for the last czars. With 300 of his new best friends present, including Russian Federation officialdom, he used the caviar-and-champagne setting to introduce a new concept for Russians: philanthropy. The centerpiece is the nonprofit Vekselberg Foundation for Art and Culture that he'd set up to repatriate the historic treasures. And he served notice to his fellow tycoons that it's time for them to give back, too.
 



Viktor and Marina Vekselberg, and their children, Irina and Sasha, at a
reception at Sotheby's celebrating their acquisition of the Forbes Faberge
egg collection. Vekselberg plans to display the eggs at the Kremlin.
The eggs' exquisite detail can be seen in the Lillies of the Valley Egg

Photo by Helayne Seidman for The Washington Post

 

"Today, I am expected to be the symbol of Russia," Vekselberg said through an interpreter.
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Bianca
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« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2009, 04:16:58 pm »











"Today, I am expected to be the symbol of Russia," Vekselberg said through an interpreter.

Behind him, a magnified image of a pink enameled egg created a surreal perspective. Lily of the valley blossoms made from pearls suddenly looked as big as pumpkins. And Vekselberg looked a bit like the tiny surprise inside one of his eggs.





LILIES OF THE VALLEY EGG 1898

Gold, ormolu (gilded bronze),
vermeil (gilded silver), enamel,
diamonds, rubies, pearls,
rock crystal



"I looked into my heart and I understood that we, the businessmen of Russia, are not the same as we were five years ago," Vekselberg said. "We have changed together with our country."


His offering consists of more than 100 pieces of Faberge collected over decades by Malcolm S. Forbes and consigned to auction by the Forbes sons. The late 19th- and early 20th-century works were the glittering output of the imperial jeweler Carl Faberge, who rose to prominence under the last two czars. Faberge has become synonymous with luxury, fine craftsmanship and precious materials no longer affordable. Having the collection, and especially the eggs, back in Russia presumably will contribute to an understanding of the last gasp of the Romanovs' rule. A promise to make the collection public -- the eggs are scheduled to go on display at the Kremlin in mid-May -- has made Vekselberg a hero back home.
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« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2009, 04:20:19 pm »










"It's scary," he confided in English. "I was just a businessman, but now. . . . " With paparazzi hovering, he admitted that he and his family are feeling a kinship with rock stars. His son, Sasha, 15, daughter, Irina, 25, an MBA candidate at Yale, and his wife, Marina, were with him. "We're private people. We're not prepared for this," he said.

He has yet to reduce his philanthropy to a sound bite. He mentioned the undeniable beauty of gold, enamel and glittering stones. There is the artistry of each creation, including a tiny gold coronation carriage, which is such an exact miniature that museum curators consulted the Faberge drawings to restore the real carriage. There is the religious significance of Easter eggs. And the historical significance of gifts that commemorate Alexander III and Nicholas II and their wives and children. One egg from 1916 is notably lacking in gold and jewels. It was made during wartime, and marks the beginning of the end as poignantly as decorative arts can do.

Vladimir Voronchenko, who will head the foundation, tried to express the elation that he and Vekselberg are feeling. "It's more important than business, more important than money," he said. "We had really to do something for our country. And it's a really big country. And we're only two small people."





CORONATION EGG 1897
Varicolored gold, platinum,
enamel, diamonds, rubies,
rock crystal, velvet lining



 He did not mention, but others did, that the annals of Russian businessmen include tycoons, tough guys, oligarchs and expats who would rather buy property in France or soccer teams in Britain than give back to the Motherland.

"It's important to show to Russia the new face of Russian business," Voronchenko insisted. "We have started to feel social responsibility. It's the right time."

Plans are still vague, but Vekselberg assured that the eggs are only a "first step" in a larger plan to repatriate Russian art. When asked whether he would be spending more money anytime soon, Vekselberg laughed and said, "I don't have so much money."

Actually, with a net worth of $3.3 billion, he ranks No. 143 on Forbes magazine's latest list of the world's richest people.
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« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2009, 04:23:46 pm »






                                          FOR MORE ON FARBEGE` EGGS, SEE:





THE GOLDSMITH'S ART
Faberge` Eggs



http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/topic,9672.0.html
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