Artoria Faberge Lilies of the Valley Egg Limoges Box

Artoria Limoges has reproduced under exclusive license by the Forbes Collection this extraordinary egg, one of several magnificent Faberge eggs in the permanent collection of the Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York City. in 1885, Alexander III, the Czar of Russia, commissioned the Imperial jeweler, Peter Carl Faberge, to create an Easter egg as a gift for his wife, the Czarina. This began the tradition of the Faberge egg. Every year thereafter, until the Bolshevik Revolution and the fall of the Imperial family in 1917, the Czar would offer a Faberge egg to his wife for Easter. A total of 57 such eggs were created, 12 of which are in the Forbes Magazine Collection. Each egg took nearly one year to produce and was painstakingly prepared by designers, gold and silversmiths, jewelers, stone carvers, enamellers and sculptors from the Faberge firm. Each egg contained a "surprise" inside which remained a closely guarded secret, even from the Czar himself, until the day of presentation. The famous Lilies of the Valley Egg was offered by Czar Nicholas II to his wife, Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, in 1898. One of only two Faberge eggs created in the Art Nouveau style, this egg was made of enameled gold, diamonds, pearls, rubies and crystal. The surprise consisted of three oval miniatures of the Czar, in military uniform, and his first two children, the grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. This fabulous box is marked Artoria Peint Main, Limoges France and is signed and numbered by the artist. Approximate size is 3¾ x 7¼ inches.

Every genuine Limoges box is an individual, hand crafted work of art. Colors, clasps, rims, details, and markings may vary from those shown. These photographs are from representative samples of this Limoges box; your box may not match this box exactly. Read About Limoges Boxes for more information.