- The Faberge Winter Egg, commissioned by Emperor Nicholas II in 1913 as an Easter gift for his mother, is poised to fetch over £20 million at auction.
- Hailed as one of Faberge’s most lavish imperial creations, the egg is intricately carved from rock crystal with a frost design and features diamond-set platinum snowflake motifs.
- After the 1917 Russian Revolution, the egg was relocated to the Kremlin Armoury.
- It was acquired by antiques dealers Wartski of London for £450, then sold to a British collector in 1934 for £1,500.
- The Winter Egg has previously set world records at Christie’s auctions in 1994 and 2002, and will be sold again by the auction house on 2 December in London.
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