Encrusted with more than 3,000 diamonds, the world's most expensive Easter egg is being sold next month and experts believe it might crack the million mark at auction. The Winter Egg, produced by Carl Faberge and given by Russian Czar Nicholas II to his mother on Easter 1913, will be sold on April 19 at Christie's New York auction house. It previously sold for .6 million in November 1994 at Christie's Geneva. Faberge, jeweler to the Russian Imperial family, produced 50 eggs between 1885 and 1916 for Czars Alexander II and Nicholas II, with the Winter Egg the most precious, according to documents housed in the Russian State Archives. The Winter Egg is made of finely-carved, transparent rock crystal with engravings on the interior simulating ice crystals. The exterior is engraved and applied with platinum-mounted rose-diamond motifs and the egg sits on a detachable rock-crystal base. Contained within the egg is a detachable surprise -- a basket of delicate spring flowers, each carved from a single piece of white quartz fashioned with gold wire stem and stamens, jade leaves and green garnet centers. The original Faberge bill shows that the Czar was charged 24,600 rubles and detailed the composition of the egg: the body set with 1,300 rose diamonds, the borders with 360 brilliants and the small basket with 1,378 rose-diamonds. Alexis de Tiesenhausen, head of the Russian Department at Christie's, said the egg marked a special occasion. He said, "1913 was a very important year in Russia. It was the commemoration of three centuries of the Romanov Dynasty and all the imperial family was lavished with gifts and when Easter came up Faberge came up with a far more elaborate egg than he did in the years before." (Agencies) | 今年的復活節將會異常"耀眼"，因為世界上最昂貴的彩蛋即將與世人見面了。這枚鑲嵌了3000多顆鉆石的復活節彩蛋將于下個月被拍賣。據專家推測，它的價格將突破600萬美元。 這枚昂貴的彩蛋叫做The Winter Egg，出自俄國皇家珠寶匠卡爾·費伯奇之手。1913年的復活節，俄國沙皇尼古拉二世曾將這枚珠寶作為復活節禮物送給他的母親。而這件稀世珍寶將于4月19日在著名的Christie紐約拍賣行進行拍賣。1994年11月份這件珠寶曾經在Christie日內瓦拍賣行進行過競拍，當時的成交價是560萬美元。 根據俄國國家檔案局提供的資料記載，卡爾·費伯奇在1885年到1916年間共先后為沙皇亞歷山大二世和尼古拉二世制作過50枚復活節彩蛋，其中以這枚The Winter Egg最為珍貴。 這枚The Winter Egg堪稱一件藝術珍品，它是由透明清澈的水晶雕刻而成的。內部刻有精美的冰晶雕刻，外部則鑲有白金，上面嵌著玫瑰形鉆石。彩蛋擺放在一個可以拆卸的水晶底座上。 彩蛋的里面還另有玄妙，讓人嘆為觀止：在這枚小小的水晶蛋里面還有一個盛滿精美花朵的花籃，每一朵花都是由一塊白色的石英雕刻而成的，花莖和花蕊由金線制成，葉子由玉石制成，而葉子的中心則是綠色的石榴石。 費伯奇當初的賬單表明這枚為沙皇制作的彩蛋在當時的價格是24600盧布，此外這張賬單還詳細標明了這枚彩蛋的制作材料：蛋身鑲有1300顆玫瑰形鉆石，邊緣部位鑲有360顆，內部花籃里則有1378顆玫瑰鉆石。 Christie俄羅斯拍賣行的負責人亞歷克西說，這枚彩蛋標志著俄羅斯歷史上的一個特殊的時刻。 他說："1913年是俄羅斯歷史上一個非常重要的年份。這一年正逢羅曼諾夫王朝（俄國封建王朝，始于1613年，1917年被俄國二月革命推翻）執政300年的周年紀念，皇室貴族之間流行互贈禮物。就在這一年的復活節，費伯奇向沙皇獻上了這枚彩蛋，這枚彩蛋比他以往所獻上的任何以每彩蛋都要精美的多。" (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2002-03-27 01:00
