Fabergé Museum
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| place | Baden-Baden |
| opening | May 9, 2009 |
| Website | |
The Fabergé Museum was opened on May 9th, 2009 by the Russian art collector Alexander Iwanow in the Baden-Württemberg spa town of Baden-Baden . It is the first museum dedicated to the jewelery art of the Russian Tsar jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé .
history
The Fabergé company was founded by Gustav Fabergé in Saint Petersburg in 1842 and was continued by his son Peter Carl Fabergé in 1872 and was the official outfitter of the Russian imperial court from 1885 to 1917. It also supplied luxury goods to the Russian and European aristocracy. In addition to the Russian tsars , the Queen of England and the royal family of Siam (now Thailand ) were Fabergé customers. After the October Revolution , the Fabergé company closed and its exquisite works were almost forgotten. Fabergé became popular again among Western collectors in the 1960s. In the early 21st century, prices rose due to demand from Russians like Ivanov, who enjoy the beautiful works of art of their country's heritage.
museum
Ivanov announced that it cost around € 17 million to buy and renovate the museum building, including € 1 million for the security system. He decided on Baden-Baden. The town is "quiet and beautiful, in the middle of Europe, close to France and Switzerland, a vacation spot for the rich, and historically it has always been the most popular vacation spot for the Russians," says the art collector.
He chose Germany because of the security. The art collector told the British newspaper Independent : “It is very difficult [in Russia] because of the many administrative hurdles [...] You always have to thank someone and you can never feel that your collection is safe: not from the state, not from bandits, from anyone. Of course, in Germany we spend a lot of money on the security system, but at least we know that the state itself won't do anything. "
An expansion of the museum is planned for the near future; this connection would mean more than 600 square meters of exhibition space for European paintings of the old masters and pre-Columbian jewelry from Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru. In addition, Ivanov's classic car collection is to be shown on more than 2000 square meters .
collection
The entire spectrum of Fabergé's work is represented in the museum's unique collection, which currently has 700 exhibits; from the famous imperial Easter eggs of the tsarist family to jewelery and high-quality everyday items made during the First World War . The famous Fabergé eggs represent only a small part of the museum's collection.
The largest exhibit in the museum's collection is the Rothschild Fabergé egg, which was given to her brother's fiancée in 1902 as an engagement gift from Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild. Alexander Ivanov bought it on November 28, 2007 for around 9 million British pounds (approx. 12.5 million euros) at Christie's auction house in London, because the art collector believed that it was the "most beautiful [work] of all time" all works of Fabergé. In addition to the Rothschild Fabergé egg, there is also a rare silver carafe in the shape of a rabbit and the last Fabergé egg, decorated with gold and diamonds, made from Karelian birch , which was made for Easter 1917. Tsar Nicholas II was deposed before he could give it to his mother. After Ivanov acquired the previously unknown Karelian ice cream, some experts questioned its authenticity. According to Ivanov, however, there are documents in the Russian state archive that prove the authenticity of the egg.
Name dispute
During the first twelve months, the Fabergé Museum had made a profit that was significantly lower than originally expected. A large part of this was probably due to a lawsuit with Fabergé Ltd. In 2009, just one month before the museum was officially opened, Fabergé Ltd, registered in the Cayman Islands and owned by the South African Gilbertson family, initiated a dispute over rights to the “Fabergé” brand. During this legal dispute, the museum was not allowed to use the name "Fabergé"; that meant no advertising, but also no sign on the door. In 2010 a German court ruled in favor of the Fabergé Museum, and the museum began to use the name “Fabergé”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQnwTBzLDamM&refer=home
- ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQnwTBzLDamM&refer=home
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/russian-billionaire-feathers-his-faberg233-nest-egg-2155869.html
- ↑ http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=49110
- ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-11/tycoon-ivanov-vies-faberge-boosts-2-billion-museum-collection.html
- ↑ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2007/11/29/uk-arts-faberge-russia-idUKL2933876020071129
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 45 ′ 43.5 " N , 8 ° 14 ′ 36.3" E