04 February 2004 18:03
Prized Faberge eggs sold to Russian industrialist
The Forbes publishing family has sold its collection of fabled Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs to Russian industrialist Viktor Vekselberg, months before they were to be offered at auction, Sotheby's auction house said on Wednesday.
None of the parties would disclose the price for the private sale of nine eggs and 180 other Faberge pieces in the collection, but Sotheby's had estimated their sale value as at least $90 million. "The family is thrilled by the sale, but they would never discuss the price," Forbes family spokeswoman Monie Begley said by telephone.
Sotheby's and the Forbes family announced last month that the eggs and other treasures collected by the late Malcolm Forbes would be offered for sale in New York in April.
"This is an unanticipated and exceptional outcome," Bill Ruprecht, president and chief executive officer of Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. said in a statement.
The eggs, considered a standard for rare treasures, were first commissioned by Russian Tsar Alexander III from the House of Faberge master crafters in 1885 as Easter gifts for his wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The tradition continued for 30 years in the Romanov imperial family.
"Upon learning that the Forbes collection was going to be auctioned, I knew immediately that this was a once in a lifetime chance to give back to my country one of its most revered treasures," Vekselberg said in a statement.
There are 50 Imperial Easter Eggs in the world, including the nine now owned by Vekselberg. There are 10 in the Moscow Kremlin Collection, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the United States has five and Britain's Queen Elizabeth owns three. Most of others are in the United States, Switzerland and Monaco, but eight are unaccounted for, Sotheby's said.
Highlights from the Forbes collection, including the nine Imperial Easter Eggs, will be on public exhibition at Sotheby's in New York before being sent to Russia, the auction house said. Dates for the exhibition have not yet been scheduled.
[http://gazeta.ru/] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
