Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Faberge Easter eggs, Russian Tea Room, Rouge at Grand Palais

I'm not ready to drop the eggs yet. And Easter is still 11 days away.
This is the "Imperial Hen" (1885) made by PETER CARL FABERGE for Czar Alexander to give to the Czarina as a surprise Easter gift. Inside the hen was a replica crown and small ruby egg, both lost.
Paris is full of enormous chocolate hens at the moment. No rubies within but full of miniature chocolate fish and foil eggs. France may be the only country I know that has goodies inside their Easter chocolate molds. Tell me if I'm wrong. 
Shake any French chocolate egg of any size (this giant is from FOUCHER on 13 rue du Bac) and it will rattle.
The jeweled "Imperial Coronation Easter egg" is rather small comparatively made in 1897. The crossed pattern referenced the robe worn by the czarina at her coronation.These delicate FABERGE eggs could take up to a year to create.
Its covered with diamond and rubies. Inside an exact replica of the coach the czarina rode in. It was sold to publisher Malcolm Forbes in 1979 for around 2 million dollars. The Forbes collection of 9 Faberge eggs, rare toys, and motorcycles etc. was displayed in a town house on 5th Avenue and West 13th street. I lived a few blocks away and often stopped in for a look at the rotating exhibitions.
Later I did menu art for the Russian Tea Room. They had their own collection of Faberge-styled eggs like this tree in the ballroom. So I seem to be joined at the hip to Faberge. Especially after eating all the  Lindt chocolate bunnies. And one of their small Lindor eggs (I just gobbled down the last egg) has a Faberge-style pattern on the blue foil. FYI its dark chocolate ganache inside.
Forbes amassed a huge collection of Faberge pieces, not just 12 imperial eggs. His goal; to own more Faberge than the Soviet government. After his death his family put the collection up for auction at Christies in 2004. Russian billionaire oligarch, Victor Vekselberg swooped in and bought everything pre-auction for the presumed sum of $100,000,000. They are now on view in the St. Petersburg Armour museum, quite far from 13th street in Greenwich Village.
On right now an exposition ROUGE,GRAND PALAIS a collection of Soviet artworks made during the revolution. Desperate for money to support the new regime, the Bolsheviks sold off priceless artworks belonging to the imperial art collections. Armand Hammer was used as a middleman and brought over artifacts to sell in New York department stores. 
What a long convoluted story! All from eating chocolate Easter bunnies.Thank you for reading and sharing Paris breakfasts. Subscription letters 💌 maps and watercolors are in my Etsy shop
From 🇫🇷Paris 💋with love ❤️Xxx🐻


28 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:19 PM

    ITALY also has a long tradition of giant chocolate Easter Eggs filled with surprises and little gifts inside. The filled eggs (18 inches or more tall) are festooned in colourful thin foil/shiny paper and cellophane. And beautiful ribbons.

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    1. Ahhhh...I remember now those big fancy chocolate eggs in Italy...
      And the cello and ribbons...
      Grazi tanti !

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  2. Beautiful post, Carol! What an interesting history you have, and how lucky that you got to see Malcom Forbes’ Faberge Egg collection. They are exquisite! The chocolate isn’t bad either.

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    1. It was serendipitous...chance really.
      Kind if like my ending up in Paris. I didnt have a plan ;))

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  3. Barbara6:52 AM

    thanks so much for creating these wonderful chickens and bunnies!
    What a story!!

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  4. Paris looks enchanting right now..Must be the prettiest time of all..

    Love les aquarelles..

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  5. The US now has chocolate easter eggs (about 2 1/2 inches long) with tiny toys inside them. They can even be bought at gas stations, I know, because I bought some and tried them out! ;-)

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    1. So funny! Everyone has them!
      Here I thought France was ahead of the game..
      They do make a tremendous fuss over Easter evn so..

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  6. I loved this story! Kind of sad the collectors dream was sold off by the family, but maybe it's a silly aim since they are Russian art works. Love all your chocolate paintings. I haven't had any easter chocolate yet, will have to see what they have here in Austria (rest assured I've been eating normal chocolate).

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    1. Victor Vekselberg is very intent on recovering Russia's lost treasures. The cost is no object.
      He bought and replaced some Russian church bells Harvard had in their collection.

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  7. I love your Faberge! And all the eggs and bunnies and hens abounding. Our time is so off kilter this Easter with Rick's surgery I wonder how much will get decorated or done up. Guess we'll have to see. Meanwhile, I can celebrate vicariously right here!

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    1. Good luck with Rick's recovery ❤️🇫🇷🍾

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  8. Love the bunny and the egg painting - I am going to buy a Lindt bunny today - they have been calling to me. Your last photo of Paris makes me think Sept can't come soon enough. Again, thank Bear for my get well note & tell him I'm doing much better & can't wait to see him (and you, of course) in Sept.

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  9. Bonnie in CA3:32 PM

    I loved the meandering story today, Carol.
    Is the final photo of your apartment building? It is beautiful.

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  10. Barry and Maureen11:23 PM

    Carol, the English chocolate Easter eggs came (and still come I believe) with goodies inside. I especially loved the Cadbury ones as their hidden chocolates inside were my favorite. You ate them first then the egg. One specialty chocolate and tobacco shop in my home town had a window display that had as its centerpiece a giant chocolate egg decorated on the outside with all kinds of edible flowers, etc. I am not sure anyone ever bought it but it also was filled with goodies My dream was to own it, ha, ha.

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    1. Thats something you never see here is flowers on the outside of eggs...
      Jean-Paul Hevin once did put colored chocolate buttons...he is always full of surprises.

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  11. Eggs in England (and the rest of the UK) invariably have contents!,

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  12. Have you visited the museum in St. Petersburg?
    Fabulous....
    Joyeux Paques.

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  13. Bonnie in CA11:31 PM

    I loved the meandering story today, Carol.
    Is the final photo of your apartment building? It is beautiful.

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  14. England also stuffs their chocolate eggs with things also! which for me, as a kid, was the most exciting part!
    Happy Easter!

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    1. Next year I'm coming to the UK to check these stuffed eggs !,!
      Sounds like a devilish plan...

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  15. I lived in New Zealand where Cadbury sold chocolate eggs filled with smaller chocolate goodies. One contained bit sized chocolate covered dried pineapple bits called Pineapple Lumps.

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    1. Yum
      Pineapple Lumps are a flavoured chocolate-covered confectionery with a soft, chewy pineapple-flavoured middle from New Zealand. They are often identified as Kiwiana. The semi-brittle shell of chocolate conceals a chewy, soft pineapple flavoured centre.

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  16. I love opening your chatty emails my ritual before the madness of morning begins. Your paintings and photos transport me to a favourite city and I wander the streets with you. The Faberge Coronation Easter Hen is amazing . When I and my sisters were children, our hollow chocolate eggs had tiny candies inside and our names were iced on the front. Thank you for your gentle letters.

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  17. Anonymous3:44 AM

    In my country, Easter eggs hang from the ceiling at the grocery stores...

    https://images.app.goo.gl/9QkrdeeNnjVwUkaJ8u

    https://images.app.goo.gl/2CsU5qVbWoWt6Ft79

    Faberge egg reunited with missing "surprise".

    https://abc13.com/society/faberge-egg-reunited-with-missing-surprise-/1859989/

    Lovely post, Carol!
    Thank you,
    Maria Russell

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    1. Thank you Mary!!
      I love the ceiling of chocolate eggs. Stupendous!
      And the ABC story about the missing egg parts. A lot of mystery surrounds the Romanov Faberge legacy.

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