Faberge Eggs Displayed

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

I have a small collection of Faberge-type eggs and wondered what would be the proper way to display them? Currently, they are atop my bedroom dresser, but would it be fine to put them out in the living room or would that be too gaudy? The eggs are very bright colored and covered with rhinestones.

Signed,

Eggsquisite

Dear Eggsquisite,

Faberge-type eggs would be lovely displayed anywhere. However, to keep them safe from breakage and free of dust, it would be best to put them in a display cabinet.

Faberge Eggs Background

Faberge eggs are intricately designed eggs made of gold, silver, and enamel encrusted with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or pearls. The eggs would open to reveal miniature "surprises" such as animals, flowers, or even a carriage. One imperial egg called the Winter Egg was embellished with over 3,000 diamonds (www.pbs.org).

Fifty Imperial Easter Eggs were created by the House of Faberge in Russia. The first Faberge egg was presented in 1885 to Czarina Maria Feodorovna as an Easter gift from her husband, Czar Alexander III.

The current whereabouts of 8 of 50 eggs are unknown. However, the country with the most imperial eggs is Russia with 19, thanks to Russian billionaire, Viktor Vekselberg, who purchased 9 from the Malcolm Forbes family's private collection for about $100 million in 2004 (www.forbes.com). The most expensive egg in the Forbes collection was the Coronation Egg that had been valued at $24 million. The rest of the Faberge imperial eggs are located in museums or private collections in the United States, England, India, Monaco, and Switzerland.

For more information about the Forbes Faberge Eggs, go to www.forbes.com

Historical information about the Faberge Eggs can be found at www.pbs.org

To see photos of Faberge Imperial Eggs in State Museum in Moscow Kremlin, see www.kreml.ru