Glass and Crystal
not including Modern tables.
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Glass < 1900 Tiffany Studios Calder Ritual bronzes Qianlong Egypt Russia and Eastern Europe
Chronology : 600 BCE - CE 1730-1739 1750-1759 1913 1952
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Glass < 1900 Tiffany Studios Calder Ritual bronzes Qianlong Egypt Russia and Eastern Europe
Chronology : 600 BCE - CE 1730-1739 1750-1759 1913 1952
Warring States Fang Hu
2020 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's
Around 400 BCE the Zhou were forced to recognize the full independence of three kingdoms around Henan. Their inexorable decline opens the Warring States period which will put up to seven major states in competition. The Qin emerge victorious in 221 BCE and found the Chinese empire.
The wording Warring States wrongly evokes anarchy. This period instead opened up China to new life styles through the development of Confucianism and Taoism. The traditional sacrificial or funeral rites persist while taking into account the observation of nature and medicine. The taotie, which expressed the mystery of the spirits, disappear from the bronze vessels.
The technological evolution of bronze becomes multidisciplinary. In very thick walls, deep grooves are filled with precious materials that bring the colors : gold, silver, copper, malachite, turquoise. Bronze handles and zoomorphic elements are added.
The baluster-shaped hu is the most common vessel at that time for the ritual use of wine. On September 23, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M a 35 cm high covered fang hu, lot 578. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Fang means that the bottle has a square section. It is richly decorated with gold, silver and glass.
The gold was encrusted by hammering a sheet on a pattern of protruding knobs added after casting. The glass was fitted in diamond- or half diamond- shaped plaques of nine or six beads in hollow reserves between the gold bosses. Silver volutes decorate the dark brown bronze surface inlaid with green malachite. The slightly domed cover is surmounted by four animals in the round.
The use of glass, recently introduced in China, is extremely rare. The only other example from the same period of a bronze vessel inlaid with glass is a pair of hu discovered around 1930, known from photographs of the time.
Each glass bead has the shape of an eye, in a concentric polychromy. This design, which perhaps had magical significance, was produced for a very short period of time. Examples were found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the principality of Zeng in Hubei, dated 433 BCE.
The sale of the fang hu, which had not been seen since 1938, allows a real rediscovery by the experts of the opulence reached in the time of the Warring States by the ritual bronzes of classical form.
The wording Warring States wrongly evokes anarchy. This period instead opened up China to new life styles through the development of Confucianism and Taoism. The traditional sacrificial or funeral rites persist while taking into account the observation of nature and medicine. The taotie, which expressed the mystery of the spirits, disappear from the bronze vessels.
The technological evolution of bronze becomes multidisciplinary. In very thick walls, deep grooves are filled with precious materials that bring the colors : gold, silver, copper, malachite, turquoise. Bronze handles and zoomorphic elements are added.
The baluster-shaped hu is the most common vessel at that time for the ritual use of wine. On September 23, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M a 35 cm high covered fang hu, lot 578. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Fang means that the bottle has a square section. It is richly decorated with gold, silver and glass.
The gold was encrusted by hammering a sheet on a pattern of protruding knobs added after casting. The glass was fitted in diamond- or half diamond- shaped plaques of nine or six beads in hollow reserves between the gold bosses. Silver volutes decorate the dark brown bronze surface inlaid with green malachite. The slightly domed cover is surmounted by four animals in the round.
The use of glass, recently introduced in China, is extremely rare. The only other example from the same period of a bronze vessel inlaid with glass is a pair of hu discovered around 1930, known from photographs of the time.
Each glass bead has the shape of an eye, in a concentric polychromy. This design, which perhaps had magical significance, was produced for a very short period of time. Examples were found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the principality of Zeng in Hubei, dated 433 BCE.
The sale of the fang hu, which had not been seen since 1938, allows a real rediscovery by the experts of the opulence reached in the time of the Warring States by the ritual bronzes of classical form.
1356 Mamluk Mosque Lamp
2024 SOLD for £ 5.1M by Bonhams
A mosque lamp forwards the word of God through the dedication of a powerful ruler. Hanging from the ceiling, the enameled glass lamp shines like a star over the believers in the darkness of the building. The technique of simultaneously gilding and enameling glass in a single firing was almost unique to the Mamluk court.
A magnificent example 38.5 cm high provides through its transparent walls a verse of the Qur'an and the name, title and shield of its patron the powerful Mamluk Emir Sarghitmish. The verse states that 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp'. It has the typical form of a rounded angular body with flaring conical mouth, with six applied loop handles.
Sarghitmish ruled Egypt beside his fellow Emir Shaykhu from 1351 CE. The Sultan was a child whom they deposed when he tried to get some power of his own. The reinstated him in 1356. At that date the pious and learned Sarghitmish built in Cairo a madrasa or Islamic college in the vicinity of the mosque of Ibn Tulun. The lamp was certainly executed for the madrasa.
It was sold for £ 5.1M from a lower estimate of £ 600K by Bonhams on November 12, 2024, lot 69 consigned by the descendants of a prime minister of Egypt, Nubar Pasha. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The death of Shaykhu killed by rebel Mamluks in 1357 brought too much power to Sarghitmish who was jailed by the Sultan in 1358 and died later in that year. The Sultan was killed in 1361 by an Emir.
A magnificent example 38.5 cm high provides through its transparent walls a verse of the Qur'an and the name, title and shield of its patron the powerful Mamluk Emir Sarghitmish. The verse states that 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp'. It has the typical form of a rounded angular body with flaring conical mouth, with six applied loop handles.
Sarghitmish ruled Egypt beside his fellow Emir Shaykhu from 1351 CE. The Sultan was a child whom they deposed when he tried to get some power of his own. The reinstated him in 1356. At that date the pious and learned Sarghitmish built in Cairo a madrasa or Islamic college in the vicinity of the mosque of Ibn Tulun. The lamp was certainly executed for the madrasa.
It was sold for £ 5.1M from a lower estimate of £ 600K by Bonhams on November 12, 2024, lot 69 consigned by the descendants of a prime minister of Egypt, Nubar Pasha. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The death of Shaykhu killed by rebel Mamluks in 1357 brought too much power to Sarghitmish who was jailed by the Sultan in 1358 and died later in that year. The Sultan was killed in 1361 by an Emir.
1737 Falangcai on Glass pouch
2019 SOLD for HK$ 207M by Sotheby's
In the transfer of the European technology of enamel painting, the Kangxi emperor creates a workshop in 1693 CE in the Forbidden City. The new technique will be used on several supports : copper, silver, porcelain. Three years later, Kangxi opens a glass workshop in the same place.
Enamel on glass is the most difficult technique. Each color demands a different baking to be lively, and a little overheating above the enamel melting point damages the glass. The term used is falangcai as for porcelain. The imperial archives do not mention any glass falangcai before 1705. The surviving pieces from the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng are incredibly rare.
When he succeeds his father, Qianlong is overflowing with enthusiasm for all forms of art. He expects from his workshops unprecedented technical achievements along with decorations of utmost finesse and originality.
On the 22nd day of the 1st month of the 3rd year of his reign, in 1737 CE, the archives record the presentation to the emperor by three eunuchs of a glass vase shaped like a pouch. This blue vase is immediately returned to the workshops for being copied. It did not survive.
Two glass falangcai with a bright yellow enamel background certainly correspond to this commission. Slightly different in shape and completely different in the decor, they were not scheduled as pendants. All other glass falangcai of this form were failed or broken.
These two pieces are of the largest dimension for this technique, 18 cm high. The pleated ovoid shape imitating the silk is knotted by a ribbon in high relief which very elegantly clasps the upper part of the purse. The imperial mark appears within a flower.
Both objects belonged in the nineteenth century to an imperial prince. They were sold separately by Sotheby's in 1988. One of them, with a dense set of twelve dragons, is now to the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
The other piece is the best achievement. Its colors are brighter. The picture with two phoenix twirling amidst flowers is very pleasant with flamboyant plumages. The rim is crenellated.
This glass pouch was sold by Sotheby's for HK $ 24M on October 29, 2000 and for HK $ 207M on October 8, 2019, lot 1. It is narrated by Nicholas Chow in the video shared by The Value.
Enamel on glass is the most difficult technique. Each color demands a different baking to be lively, and a little overheating above the enamel melting point damages the glass. The term used is falangcai as for porcelain. The imperial archives do not mention any glass falangcai before 1705. The surviving pieces from the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng are incredibly rare.
When he succeeds his father, Qianlong is overflowing with enthusiasm for all forms of art. He expects from his workshops unprecedented technical achievements along with decorations of utmost finesse and originality.
On the 22nd day of the 1st month of the 3rd year of his reign, in 1737 CE, the archives record the presentation to the emperor by three eunuchs of a glass vase shaped like a pouch. This blue vase is immediately returned to the workshops for being copied. It did not survive.
Two glass falangcai with a bright yellow enamel background certainly correspond to this commission. Slightly different in shape and completely different in the decor, they were not scheduled as pendants. All other glass falangcai of this form were failed or broken.
These two pieces are of the largest dimension for this technique, 18 cm high. The pleated ovoid shape imitating the silk is knotted by a ribbon in high relief which very elegantly clasps the upper part of the purse. The imperial mark appears within a flower.
Both objects belonged in the nineteenth century to an imperial prince. They were sold separately by Sotheby's in 1988. One of them, with a dense set of twelve dragons, is now to the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
The other piece is the best achievement. Its colors are brighter. The picture with two phoenix twirling amidst flowers is very pleasant with flamboyant plumages. The rim is crenellated.
This glass pouch was sold by Sotheby's for HK $ 24M on October 29, 2000 and for HK $ 207M on October 8, 2019, lot 1. It is narrated by Nicholas Chow in the video shared by The Value.
1736-1758 Brushpot in Enamel Glass
2008 SOLD for HK$ 73M by Christie's
In the 35th year of his reign matching 1696 CE, the Kangxi emperor devoted a place in the Imperial City to the enamel painting of glass vessels. This workshop was operated by Jesuits. The transparency of the glass offers the possibility of a supreme refinement but the yield is very low. The themes are often European.
The pieces produced without bubble and without crack which deserve to receive the imperial mark are almost nonexistent under Kangxi and Yongzheng. All of the items listed below have the Qianlong imperial mark. The know-how ceases to be maintained after 1758 CE.
Brushpots in enameled glass are extremely rare.
A 8.5 cm high piece with square section and canted corners was sold for HK $ 68M by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, 2007, lot 1665. Its buyer, the Taiwanese businessman Robert Tsao, put it back on sale in the same room on May 27, 2008 as a charity lot to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. It was sold for HK $ 73M, lot 1525.
The pieces produced without bubble and without crack which deserve to receive the imperial mark are almost nonexistent under Kangxi and Yongzheng. All of the items listed below have the Qianlong imperial mark. The know-how ceases to be maintained after 1758 CE.
Brushpots in enameled glass are extremely rare.
A 8.5 cm high piece with square section and canted corners was sold for HK $ 68M by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, 2007, lot 1665. Its buyer, the Taiwanese businessman Robert Tsao, put it back on sale in the same room on May 27, 2008 as a charity lot to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. It was sold for HK $ 73M, lot 1525.
Qianlong Falangcai Glass Brushpot
2012 SOLD for HK$ 49M by Christie's
A 6.1 cm high cylindrical falangcai enamel glass brush pot was sold for HK $ 49M by Christie's on November 28, 2012 from a lower estimate of HK $ 6M, lot 2124.
It is finely painted with an extended enamel palette on a translucent white glass reminiscent of the color of jade. Its slightly curved cylindrical shape is exquisite.
It features an elderly scholar inspecting a landscape hand scroll with the help of an assistant and of a young boy while the group on the other side is centered on an European in Chinese robe, possibly in reference to the role of the Jesuits in the development of the enamel painting on glass and porcelain.
It is finely painted with an extended enamel palette on a translucent white glass reminiscent of the color of jade. Its slightly curved cylindrical shape is exquisite.
It features an elderly scholar inspecting a landscape hand scroll with the help of an assistant and of a young boy while the group on the other side is centered on an European in Chinese robe, possibly in reference to the role of the Jesuits in the development of the enamel painting on glass and porcelain.
1904 Double Pedestal Lamp by Wright
2025 SOLD for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's
A modernist architect, interior designer and urbanist who will later be referred as the greatest American architect of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright integrated leaded glass elements and windows in his furniture. He stated that "a house is more a home by being a work of art".
The recently widowed Mrs Dana was the heiress of a huge fortune including silver mines of her late father. Eager to be acknowledged as a philanthropist and a social activist, she commissioned in 1902 to the 35 year old Wright the transformation of her family's mansion in Springfield IL.
From his own designs Wright included in the Dana house about 450 glass pieces including windows, door panels, murals and lighting fixtures.
A set of 2 nearly identical double pedestal lamps and 6 single pedestal lamps were conceived for that house ca 1903 and executed ca 1904 for electric light by the Linden Glass Company in Chicago.
The double pedestal lamps are 60 cm high, 82 cm wide and 40 cm deep, including the shade in iridized and opalescent glass. When lit, the tones of gold, amber, and mossy green transmit a serene autumnal glow through the roof of the architectonic lamp. Its geometric patterns anticipate by two decades Mondrian's color field paintings.
One of the two double was re-purchased in 1988 for the use of the Dana house, currently one of the most intact interiors designed by Wright. Consigned by the descent of the second house owner, the other double pedestal lamp was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 10, 2002, lot 25. It was sold for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2025, lot 36. Please watch the short and long videos shared by Sotheby's.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 14
#AuctionUpdate: One of only two in existence, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Double Pedestal Lamp for the Susan Lawrence Dana House achieved an astonishing $7.5 million, well over its $3-5 million estimate. Designed in 1903 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, the lamp distills the essence
The recently widowed Mrs Dana was the heiress of a huge fortune including silver mines of her late father. Eager to be acknowledged as a philanthropist and a social activist, she commissioned in 1902 to the 35 year old Wright the transformation of her family's mansion in Springfield IL.
From his own designs Wright included in the Dana house about 450 glass pieces including windows, door panels, murals and lighting fixtures.
A set of 2 nearly identical double pedestal lamps and 6 single pedestal lamps were conceived for that house ca 1903 and executed ca 1904 for electric light by the Linden Glass Company in Chicago.
The double pedestal lamps are 60 cm high, 82 cm wide and 40 cm deep, including the shade in iridized and opalescent glass. When lit, the tones of gold, amber, and mossy green transmit a serene autumnal glow through the roof of the architectonic lamp. Its geometric patterns anticipate by two decades Mondrian's color field paintings.
One of the two double was re-purchased in 1988 for the use of the Dana house, currently one of the most intact interiors designed by Wright. Consigned by the descent of the second house owner, the other double pedestal lamp was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 10, 2002, lot 25. It was sold for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2025, lot 36. Please watch the short and long videos shared by Sotheby's.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 14
#AuctionUpdate: One of only two in existence, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Double Pedestal Lamp for the Susan Lawrence Dana House achieved an astonishing $7.5 million, well over its $3-5 million estimate. Designed in 1903 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, the lamp distills the essence
- The Double Pedestal Lamp, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, reflects his pioneering use of electric lighting, a novelty at the time, and fetched $7.5 million at Sotheby's, surpassing its $3-5 million estimate, highlighting its rarity as one of only two existing examples.
- The lamp’s creation coincided with Wright’s work on the Dana House (1902-1904), a groundbreaking project for an independently wealthy, progressive female client, which featured over 200 leaded glass pieces, showcasing his innovative architectural integration of art and function.
- Research from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust indicates that Wright’s early 20th-century designs, like this lamp, influenced modern architecture by blending organic forms with industrial materials, a shift supported by the lamp’s record-breaking sale as evidence of enduring cultural and economic value.
1913 Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios
2024 SOLD for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's
A monumental arched window 490 x 325 cm including the frame was executed in 1913 by Tiffany Studios. It was made of leaded Favrile glass selectively plated in front and reverse. This memorial window had been commissioned by the First Baptist Church in Canton OH to honor the 50 years of service of a founding couple in their lifetime.
The stunning landscape at sunset is viewed from behind a balcony with flourishing apple trees and a field of red poppies. Within the Tiffany Studios organization, it is a technical feat by the Tiffany Girls team from a cartoon by Agnes Northrop. An early employee who worked at Tiffany for five decades overall, Northrop was awarded a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Kept at the Church until 1990, the Danner Memorial Window was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 8, 2000, lot 387, and for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 113. Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
This achievement illustrates a concept by Tiffany that an Edenic landscape may honor God's glory as well as religious figures and stories.
The stunning landscape at sunset is viewed from behind a balcony with flourishing apple trees and a field of red poppies. Within the Tiffany Studios organization, it is a technical feat by the Tiffany Girls team from a cartoon by Agnes Northrop. An early employee who worked at Tiffany for five decades overall, Northrop was awarded a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Kept at the Church until 1990, the Danner Memorial Window was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 8, 2000, lot 387, and for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 113. Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
This achievement illustrates a concept by Tiffany that an Edenic landscape may honor God's glory as well as religious figures and stories.
#AuctionUpdate: Standing an impressive sixteen feet in height, the breathtaking Danner Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios has sold for $12.5M. #SothebysModern pic.twitter.com/62DxkoJlde
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 19, 2024
1913 Winter Egg by Fabergé
2025 SOLD for £ 23M by Christie's
The presentation of an egg at Easter is a charming tradition. From 1885, Tsar Alexander III commissioned to Fabergé a surprise egg each year for his wife. After his death their son Nicholas II needed two Easter eggs a year, one for his mother and one for his wife. Of course, all these eggs are different from one another.
The eggs supplied by Fabergé in 1913 are the Romanov Tercentenary egg for the tsarina and the Winter egg for the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna. Billed for 24,600 rubles, the Winter egg is the most expensive of all Fabergé eggs. By its theme, it is also one of the most delicate. It is the first imperial egg from a design by Alma Theresia Pihl, the niece of the head jeweler Albert Holmström who ensured its realization.
With a total height of 14.2 cm, the Winter egg is made of transparent rock crystal chiseled to symbolize frost or crushed ice. The actual egg, 10.2 cm high, is detachable from its base. It contains the surprise, a basket of white wood anemones with a total height of 8.2 cm. This early blossom is a symbol of the end of winter.
Of course, the richest materials were used. The basket is in platinum. On a gold moss, the flowers are in quartz centered by a garnet, with stem and stamens in gold. The leaves are in nephrite. The whole is paved with nearly 3,000 tiny diamonds.
The Winter egg was sold by Christie's for CHF 7.3M on November 16, 1994, lot 464, for $ 9.6M on April 19, 2002, lot 150, and for £ 23M on December 2, 2025, lot 7.
The eggs supplied by Fabergé in 1913 are the Romanov Tercentenary egg for the tsarina and the Winter egg for the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna. Billed for 24,600 rubles, the Winter egg is the most expensive of all Fabergé eggs. By its theme, it is also one of the most delicate. It is the first imperial egg from a design by Alma Theresia Pihl, the niece of the head jeweler Albert Holmström who ensured its realization.
With a total height of 14.2 cm, the Winter egg is made of transparent rock crystal chiseled to symbolize frost or crushed ice. The actual egg, 10.2 cm high, is detachable from its base. It contains the surprise, a basket of white wood anemones with a total height of 8.2 cm. This early blossom is a symbol of the end of winter.
Of course, the richest materials were used. The basket is in platinum. On a gold moss, the flowers are in quartz centered by a garnet, with stem and stamens in gold. The leaves are in nephrite. The whole is paved with nearly 3,000 tiny diamonds.
The Winter egg was sold by Christie's for CHF 7.3M on November 16, 1994, lot 464, for $ 9.6M on April 19, 2002, lot 150, and for £ 23M on December 2, 2025, lot 7.
Asking its history to Grok :
Grok thought :
The Winter Egg: History of a Fabergé Masterpiece
The Fabergé egg referenced in your query is the renowned Imperial Winter Egg (also known simply as the Winter Egg), one of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs created by the House of Fabergé for the Russian Romanov family. This exquisite object, commissioned in 1913, embodies the pinnacle of Fabergé's artistry with its innovative use of rock crystal to evoke a frozen Russian landscape. It matches the specified Christie's sales: lot 150 (reference 3898060) on April 19, 2002, in New York, and lot 7 (reference 6559093) on December 2, 2025, in London. Below is a comprehensive history, tracing its creation, provenance, and significance.
Creation and Imperial Origins (1913)
The Winter Egg has twice set auction records for Fabergé (1994 and 2002) and remains one of only seven privately held Imperial eggs (43 are in museums). Its 2025 sale marks the first public offering of an Imperial egg in over 20 years, underscoring rising demand for Russian decorative arts. As Margo Oganesian, Christie's Head of Fabergé and Russian Works of Art, noted: "It is arguably one of Fabergé’s finest creations, both technically and artistically."
This egg's journey—from Romanov Easter gift to Bolshevik dispersal, English obscurity, and Qatari opulence—exemplifies the turbulent fate of Fabergé's treasures amid 20th-century upheavals. Its return to Christie's closes a loop, offering collectors a rare chance to own a slice of imperial history.
Grok thought :
The Winter Egg: History of a Fabergé Masterpiece
The Fabergé egg referenced in your query is the renowned Imperial Winter Egg (also known simply as the Winter Egg), one of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs created by the House of Fabergé for the Russian Romanov family. This exquisite object, commissioned in 1913, embodies the pinnacle of Fabergé's artistry with its innovative use of rock crystal to evoke a frozen Russian landscape. It matches the specified Christie's sales: lot 150 (reference 3898060) on April 19, 2002, in New York, and lot 7 (reference 6559093) on December 2, 2025, in London. Below is a comprehensive history, tracing its creation, provenance, and significance.
Creation and Imperial Origins (1913)
- Commission and Design: The Winter Egg was crafted in St. Petersburg by the House of Fabergé as an Easter gift from Tsar Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. It was presented in 1913, the year marking the 300th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty. Unlike many eggs tied to specific historical events, this one draws inspiration from the stark beauty of a Russian winter.
- Artisans: Designed by Alma Theresia Pihl (Fabergé's most celebrated female designer, daughter of jeweler Oskar Pihl and known for her snowflake motifs), and executed by workmaster Albert Holmström (Pihl's uncle). It cost 24,600 roubles at the time—an enormous sum equivalent to a year's salary for a skilled artisan.
- Description and "Surprise": The egg stands 5⅝ inches (14.2 cm) high on its base. It features a finely carved rock crystal egg (4 inches/10.2 cm high) engraved inside with frost patterns and adorned outside with platinum-set rose-cut diamond snowflakes (totaling 3,246 diamonds). The egg hinges open to reveal a cabochon moonstone dated "1913." The base mimics melting ice with platinum rivulets. The "surprise" inside is a platinum and diamond miniature platinum basket holding a spray of synthetic snowdrops (lily-of-the-valley) on gold stems, engraved "Fabergé 1913" (3¼ inches/8.2 cm high). This surprise symbolizes spring's arrival after winter.
- Significance: Widely regarded as one of Fabergé's most original and technically brilliant creations, it showcases advanced rock crystal carving— a fragile material requiring exceptional skill, as noted in Fabergé head craftsman Henrik Wigström's memoirs.
- 1920s–1930s: Sold in the Soviet Union (likely through state auctions). Acquired by London dealer Wartski in the late 1920s, then by British collector Lord Allington in 1934.
- 1940s: Entered the collection of Sir Bernard Eckstein, a prominent British industrialist and art collector.
- 1949: Sold at Sotheby's London (February 8, lot 128) for £1,700 to Arthur Bryan Ledbrook, a British businessman.
- 1950s–1975: Remained in Ledbrook's private collection.
- 1975–1994: "Lost" after Ledbrook's death—believed vanished or hidden for nearly two decades. It resurfaced in 1993 in a shoebox under a bed in suburban London (some accounts suggest a bank vault).
- November 16, 1994 (Christie's Geneva, lot 464): Upon rediscovery, it fetched 7,263,500 Swiss francs (approx. $5.6 million USD at the time), setting a world auction record for a Fabergé item. Bought by an anonymous American private collector.
- April 19, 2002 (Christie's New York, lot 150, reference 3898060): Resold for $9,579,500 (including buyer's premium), shattering its own record. Purchased by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, then-Emir of Qatar, for his royal collection. This sale highlighted the egg's enduring allure, featured in Christie's catalogs as "A Highly Important Fabergé Imperial Easter Egg with Original Surprise."
- 2002–2025: Held in the Al Thani family collection (Qatar's ruling dynasty, renowned for acquiring masterpieces). It was exhibited internationally, including:
- Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (1997, Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith to the Tsar).
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2011, Fabergé Revealed).
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2021–2022, Fabergé: Romance to Revolution).
- No public sales occurred during this period, making it the last Imperial Fabergé egg to appear at auction until now.
- December 2, 2025 (Christie's London, lot 7, reference 6559093): Offered as the centerpiece of The Winter Egg and Important Works by Fabergé from a Princely Collection (a trust property). Estimate: on request, but in excess of £20 million ($26.9 million USD)—potentially eclipsing the Rothschild Egg's 2007 record of £8.9 million ($11.9 million). The sale includes ~50 other Fabergé items (e.g., hardstone animals, frames) from the same princely collection, with estimates from £2,000 to £2 million. Viewable November 27–December 2, 2025, in London.
The Winter Egg has twice set auction records for Fabergé (1994 and 2002) and remains one of only seven privately held Imperial eggs (43 are in museums). Its 2025 sale marks the first public offering of an Imperial egg in over 20 years, underscoring rising demand for Russian decorative arts. As Margo Oganesian, Christie's Head of Fabergé and Russian Works of Art, noted: "It is arguably one of Fabergé’s finest creations, both technically and artistically."
This egg's journey—from Romanov Easter gift to Bolshevik dispersal, English obscurity, and Qatari opulence—exemplifies the turbulent fate of Fabergé's treasures amid 20th-century upheavals. Its return to Christie's closes a loop, offering collectors a rare chance to own a slice of imperial history.
Faberge's The Winter Egg, considered one of his most beautiful creations, sold for nearly £23 million ($30 million) at auction Tuesday in London, smashing the sales record for the legendary jeweller of Imperial Russia. https://t.co/NtVzRqfMzX pic.twitter.com/VfMrUX6B7o
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 2, 2025
□ Let the bets begin — how much will it sell for?
— Muse (@xmuse_) December 2, 2025
Fabergé’s Winter Egg (1913) heads to Christie’s London auction. Valued at more than £20 million. □□ pic.twitter.com/MCSinEdAMQ https://t.co/p6AU0RpAWl
1942 Standing mobile by Calder
2016 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's
Alexander Calder, back from Europe in 1933, set up his workshop in Roxbury, Connecticut. He had developed in Paris his new forms of art, the figurative wire sculpture and then the abstract mobile inspired by nature.
Alfred H. Barr Jr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, is a pioneer for the artistic relations between Europe and America. In 1939, he commissions a monumental work to Calder for the staircase of a new MoMA building. Made of steel wire and painted aluminum sheets, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail is a mobile in which the basket is made of steel wire.
Influenced by Mondrian's art, Calder uses pure colors. To introduce a sparkling effect, he makes a few mobiles in which the metal plates are replaced with salvaged glass broken by himself in his workshop.
Relations between Calder and Barr are excellent, including a solo exhibition at MoMA in 1943. The artist would like to offer one of his objects to Barr but the director is reluctant, for ethical reasons.
A standing mobile could finally be offered to Barr in 1966. Executed in 1942, it is a black hook 83 cm high featuring a mobile of ten pieces of glass. Remained in the family, it was sold by Sotheby's on May 11, 2016 for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 5.
Alfred H. Barr Jr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, is a pioneer for the artistic relations between Europe and America. In 1939, he commissions a monumental work to Calder for the staircase of a new MoMA building. Made of steel wire and painted aluminum sheets, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail is a mobile in which the basket is made of steel wire.
Influenced by Mondrian's art, Calder uses pure colors. To introduce a sparkling effect, he makes a few mobiles in which the metal plates are replaced with salvaged glass broken by himself in his workshop.
Relations between Calder and Barr are excellent, including a solo exhibition at MoMA in 1943. The artist would like to offer one of his objects to Barr but the director is reluctant, for ethical reasons.
A standing mobile could finally be offered to Barr in 1966. Executed in 1942, it is a black hook 83 cm high featuring a mobile of ten pieces of glass. Remained in the family, it was sold by Sotheby's on May 11, 2016 for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 5.
1952 Fish by Calder
2019 SOLD for $ 17.5M by Christie's
Calder's encounter with the fish was a must. The animal moves freely in its aquarium like the leaf of a mobile. Its shape seen by Calder is childishly simple : the lines of the body cross to form the tail.
Around 1942 he hooks two filiform fish as mobiles within a stabile surrounding of water weeds. This composite work 52 cm high was sold for $ 2.53M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018.
In 1946 he creates for Peggy Guggenheim's personal use a fish mobile which will become a subject of amusement in her cocktail parties.
On May 15, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 17.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12.5M Fish, hanging mobile 39 x 112 cm made by Calder around 1952, lot 14 B. The outline of this nice fish is made of a few metal rods in the style of a child's drawing. The mouth is wide open. The crossing of two rods binds body and tail. The signature of the initials CA of the artist, made in two folded strings, hangs from that place.
In this subtle frame that might seem rudimentary, the artist has positioned an eye and 33 fish scales. An inner circle reinforces the figure of the eye. A piece of broken glass is tied by a string in each cell. Each piece of glass has another shape and the colors are of high diversity. The movement of the mobile changes the shining effect of these colored elements.
Made in 1957, a hanging fish 2.26m long was sold for $ 26M by Christie's on May 13, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 9M. This terrible specimen is entirely made of black painted metal. The body is bulky. The prey hangs in front of the voracious mouth. The tail is a mobile with three branches in the signature style of the artist with a total of 14 plaques.
Around 1942 he hooks two filiform fish as mobiles within a stabile surrounding of water weeds. This composite work 52 cm high was sold for $ 2.53M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018.
In 1946 he creates for Peggy Guggenheim's personal use a fish mobile which will become a subject of amusement in her cocktail parties.
On May 15, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 17.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12.5M Fish, hanging mobile 39 x 112 cm made by Calder around 1952, lot 14 B. The outline of this nice fish is made of a few metal rods in the style of a child's drawing. The mouth is wide open. The crossing of two rods binds body and tail. The signature of the initials CA of the artist, made in two folded strings, hangs from that place.
In this subtle frame that might seem rudimentary, the artist has positioned an eye and 33 fish scales. An inner circle reinforces the figure of the eye. A piece of broken glass is tied by a string in each cell. Each piece of glass has another shape and the colors are of high diversity. The movement of the mobile changes the shining effect of these colored elements.
Made in 1957, a hanging fish 2.26m long was sold for $ 26M by Christie's on May 13, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 9M. This terrible specimen is entirely made of black painted metal. The body is bulky. The prey hangs in front of the voracious mouth. The tail is a mobile with three branches in the signature style of the artist with a total of 14 plaques.
