Faberge eggs become symbols of power in new Russia

In the annals of human folly, it is doubtful if blood and cash have ever been splashed over anything quite so fabulous and frivolous as Faberge eggs.

The story of these diamond-festooned treasures, the glorified Easter eggs of the Russian tsars, is one of imperial might, revolution and assassination.

The exquisite jewelled eggs were annual Easter gifts to family members from the Russian tsar

It is also the story of the ambition and incalculable riches of the new rulers of Russia and the oligarchs.

(Read the full article from BBC here.)
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The beautiful gem-encrusted Faberge eggs created by Carl Faberge for Tsar Alexander III and Tsar Nicholas II are fascinating, and I probably have a morbid curiosity about them, knowing how intertwined the eggs are with the dying Romanov dynasty.

Russian oil and gas tycoon Viktor Vekselberg paid USD 100 million for nine of the forty-two remaining original Faberge eggs and the eggs are on a long homeward bound journey to the land of their creation.

The eggs themselves are mind-boggling, and so is the amount Vekselberg paid for them. I suppose this is akin perhaps to Chinese businessmen purchasing bronze heads of zodiac animals looted from Beijing’s Yuanming Garden during the final days of the Qing dynasty. Both were symbols of excesses of dying dynasties desperately clinging to power in their final days. Both are now purchased with the aim of returning them to their homelands after being in the possession of wealthy collectors in the Europe and US.

BBC is broadcasting “The World’s Most Beautiful Eggs” on 25 June 2013 at 21:00 BST. I wonder if this is going to be available on the BBC website or youtube. It would be really an eye-popping experience for me to see all forty-two remaining eggs. I saw quite a few in display windows in St. Petersburg, but nothing will beat seeing the original eggs opened to reveal the treasures inside.