Thursday, February 1, 2024

Did you know there was a Fabergé potato?

The creator of Fabergé eggs made a Fabergé potato.

Arts & Culture

E ven if you don't know the name of Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé, you're probably familiar with his Fabergé eggs, most of which were made for the Romanov family in their last few decades as Russian rulers. Like most things associated with the Romanovs, these Easter eggs were over-the-top opulent, finely crafted with intricate diamond patterns, hidden treasures, and elaborate bases. One single egg is worth around $33 million today.

Fabergé didn't just make eggs, however. His other designs, including fruits and flowers in tiny crystal vases, also fetch a high price. But among all his dainty, ornate work, one unexpected subject stands out: a potato, just under 4 inches long, in a realistic, irregular shape. Crafted around 1890, the Fabergé potato is a polished box carved from pink agate, decorated with a gold-mounted lid and a fleur-de-lis clasp. It's one of his lesser-known works, but it bears the mark of the Russian jeweler Michael Perkhin, the master goldsmith Fabergé used to create his eggs at the time. Anything that's a Fabergé is extremely valuable, whether it's an enameled egg with a tiny, perfect gold replica of a palace inside, or a humble spud. Indeed, the potato box was sold by the auction house Christie's for $93,750 in 2016.

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By the Numbers

Imperial Fabergé eggs made for the Romanov family

Diamonds adorning the Winter Egg, the most expensive Imperial egg

3,000

Did you know?

The accent on the end of Fabergé was made up.

When Peter Carl Fabergé's father Gustav founded the family's jewelry firm, his name was actually Gustav Faberge — without the accent. Gustav changed it around 1842, when he finished his goldsmithing apprenticeship in St. Petersburg, Russia. One theory is that the accent was added to make the name sound more French, making his jewelry a little more appealing. In his defense, the Faberge family did actually come from France, where their last name was originally Favri. They fled the country in the 17th century, and over the next several generations the name morphed into Faberge.

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