A Special Sneak Peek at FABERGE: IMPERIAL JEWELER TO THE TSARS

The Bowers Museum staff is making final preparations for the highly anticipated  Fabergé: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars opening on June 23, 2012. The exhibition comes courtesy of the  McFerrin Collection and the Houston Museum of Natural Science and will be on exhibit through the holidays until January 6, 2013. Here is the centerpiece of the show, a stunning diamond tiara, one of few tiaras ever made by Fabergé. Designed as a series of graduated old-cut diamond arches with a central 8.3 carat pear-shaped diamond flanked by three briolette-cut and one old-cut diamond, it is mounted in silver and gold. The diamonds were a gift from Tsar Alexander I to the Empress Josephine after her divorce from Napoléon Bonaparte. The diamonds passed down through Josephine’s heirs, one of which eventually married Maria Nikolaevna, eldest daughter Tsar Nicholas I. Through this reconnection with the Russian royal family, the diamonds came into the workshop of Fabergé. A group of beautiful enameled eggs are gently nested in archival tissue while awaiting installation. Ready to be wheeled into the gallery, this cart contains a menagerie of wonderful items including bell-push, a samovar, and another star of the show an exquisite diamond covered box with the cipher of Nicholas II within a diamond frame surmounted by the Imperial crown set with rose-cut and cushion-cut diamonds.The Imperial Russian court was renowned for lavish gifts such as this presented to foreign dignitaries visiting Russia. It is considered the finest box ever made by Fabergé. All text and images under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.