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The Forbes family, perhaps best known for its annual list of the world's richest people has ironically fallen on hard times itself. Fortunately, they have a cushion in the form of a truly extraordinary collection of Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs in the world.
The collection includes nine Eggs, second only to the ten in the Kremlin's Armoury Museum as well as 180 other pieces by Fabergé totally worth an estimated USD 90 million will be auctioned by Sotheby's in April this year. This is said to be the latest in a series of fire sales by the four surviving sons of Malcolm Forbes, founder of the world famous business magazine that bears his name. Known for living life king size (private yachts, jets, mansions in the USA, London , and Paris and a South Sea island of his own, Malcolm Forbes was estimated to be worth around USD 750 million - USD 1.25 billion. |
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In recent years though, the Forbes empire has faced a downturn with a 50% drop in advertising pages over the past three years. Its fading prestige and influence can also be understood in the fact that it is no longer considered necessary reading by business leaders, especially since there are so many competitors in the field. The advertising recession and economic downturn hit all sections of the media but the family also had to deal with Steve Forbes' bid to run for Republican candidate for the American presidency twice(1996 and 2000). Both campaihns ended in failure and are estimated to have cost a total of USD 66 million, which cannot be called a small figure in any language.
In 2001, a collection of American paintings and sculpture netted USD 4.6 million. Later a sale of a Fabergé Imperial Egg brought in USD 6 million and an auction of historical documents that included a manuscript of Abraham Lincoln's last speech, which raised USD 30 million. A year ago, Christopher Forbes raised USD 31 million from a sale of 350 pre-Raphaelite and Victorian paintings from his collection, which were housed in the London estate.
Christopher Forbes however said that the sale had nothing to do with the family's foundering fortunes and that the drop in company revenue was not the reason why his siblings and he had decided to sell the last of the collection. He did go on to say "We're trying to make sure that the real jewel - Forbes and Forbes.com - stays within the family." He added, "None of us are getting any younger. It was a great passion of Pop's, and we have had a great time owning these objects."
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A Statement released by the Forbes family says that they decided to auction the eggs in line with their father's wish that other collectors could experience the pleasure of getting and owning such unique pieces. "Also, the sale will allow each of us to pursue our own individual interests, something our family has always valued."
(1) The Cucko Egg (2) The Cucko Egg Detail
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Whatever the reasons given, what is an undeniable fact is that this is the most important auction of Imperial Eggs ever held. Christies sold the Imperial Winter Egg in 2002 to an anonymous buyer for a record price of USD 9.5 million and soon after that the Forbes started to receive offers for their collection. Sotheby's counts the chance to exhibit and sell the best of this collection a great coup over archrival Christies. while both houses were willing to offer the family comparable financing, the Forbes said that Sotheby's "came with a very good offer and an aggressive plan of attack." According to the New York Times, Sotheby's has given the Forbes family a guarantee of an undisclosed sum - regardless of the outcome of the sales - on four eggs. The sum in question is believed to be under USD 50 million.
The Fifteenth Anniversary Egg
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The Fifteenth Anniversary Egg Detail |
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The objects will be on public view at Sotheby's York Avenue headquarters from April 12-20 and the auction will be held on April 21 - 22. The auction house expects the kind of crowds that it witnessed in 1988 when it held a 10 day sale of art and objects belonging to Andy Warhol and in 1196 when it sold the contents of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's houses and Jewellery. The public showing might well be the last time this collection is being viewed together.
Malcolm Forbes' love affair with Fabergé bagan in 1960 with the purchase of a gold cigarette case as a present for his wif. Five years later, he bought The Duchess of Malborough Egg, the only Fabergé egg made for an American, from Sotheby's, which was then known as Parke-Bennet in New York. Twenty years later, he bought the Imperial Cuckoo Egg at a memorable Sotheby's sale. When he bought his 11th Fabergé Imperial Egg in 1986, the auctioneer brought the hammer down with the cry, "The score now stands: Kremlin 10 - Forbes 11." In 1987, Malcolm Forbes had rounded the collection to a dozen.
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The Hen Egg and The Hen Egg Detail |
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In 1973 he wrote, "When very young, I read with horrified fascination an abundantly illustrated volume on World War I. Its chapter about the Russian Revolution and the massacre of the Romanov family included a picture of a Fabergé Imperial Egg to illustrate the pre-war extravagance of Russia's rulers. "Son, Christopher Forbes recalls in the book Fabergé: The Forbes Collection, which he co-authored with Robyn Tromer-Brenner, that it always annoyed his father when a visitor examining one of the Fabergé eggs would make an observation along the lines of "you can see why they had a revolution.........such decadence!" It irritated him that the ultimate creations of the House of Fabergé should be dis missed exactly as years of Soviet propaganda intended was especially galling to the man who called his company's flagship publication a "Capitalist Tool".
Who are the potential buyers for this fantastic collection? Mainly Americans, who have had a long love affair with Fabergé and are passionate collectors of anything that bears this name. Also, a new breed of rich Russians is emerging and it is quite likely that they would like own a piece of their countries history. One cannot dismiss the Kremlin as a potential buyer either for it is also likely that it might like to add to its own fabulous collection. |
The Lilies of the Valley Egg and The Lilies of the Valley Egg Detail |
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What is it about these miniscule treasures (most are less than six inches tall) that make them so priceless and so greedily sought after? These over the top baubles are really worth much more than the fabulous material, the extraordinary craftsmanship and sheer inventive genius and imaginative fantasy that went into their making, the real attraction is their history and their connection to the Romanov dynasty.
It was a famous collaboration between the House of Fabergé and the last two generations of the ill-fated Romanov dynasty that have now become a metaphor for anything of the utmost rarity and value. The House of Fabergé received its first commission of an agg for the Easter of 1885, the same year that it was confirmed Court. From that time on, it became an annual tradition right up to the last days of the Romanovs and Imperial Russia.
1) The Orange Tree Egg (2)The Orange Tree Egg Detail (3) The Renaissance Egg
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The very first Imperial Easter Egg that Peter Carl Fabergé made was the Hen Egg, which was commissioned by Tsar Alexandar III for his wife Tsarina Maria Feodorovna . With the size and plain white matte enamelling that exactly mimics a real eggs, it twists open to reveal a gold yolk, which in turn reveals a varicoloured gold hen. This sort of "surprise" was believed to be in all the Imperial Eggs (50 of which are thought to have been made in all) of which, some have been preserved and some lost forever.
When Nicholas II was crowned Tsar in 1897 of an expire that covered one sixth of the earth's surface, (at the age of 28) he commissioned the most spectacular object ever made by Fabergé - the magnificent Coronation Egg, which he presented to his wife Tsarina Alexandra. Created of gold coloured guilloché enamel mounted with a trelliswork of diamond set Imperial eagles, the egg opens to reveal a velvet lined compartment containing an exact replica of the coach in which Alexandra made her grand entrance into Moscow. It took workmaster George Stein fifteen months, working sixteen hours a day, to complete this gold, enamel, diamond and rock crystal masterpiece.
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(1) The Rosebud Egg (2) The Rosebud Egg Detail (3) The Order of St. George Egg (4) The Order of St. George Egg Detail |
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Besides the Imperial Eggs, there are 180 other objects by Fabergé in the Forbes collection such as a miniature watering can made from a single piece of nephrite, with handle and nozzle set with rose cut diamond borders, which accompanies a miniature basket of lilies of the valley featuring pearl flowers on gold stems. The collection also includes more than 30 precious Fabergé egg charms adorned with brilliant gems and enamels, some commemorating historic events, some inspired by whimsical subjects but all with the same exquisite attention to detail as their Imperial counterparts. |
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Forbes
Family Falls Back on Fabergé Nest Egg
