This is a huge book, part of the Abrams Poster-Sized Book line, and it lists and depicts, well, Fabergé eggs and other charms made by the great jeweler whether the ones given by the czars of Russia to wives and mothers or other nobles of the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th centuries.
In case you don’t know, these small bits of metallurgy and lapidary are intricate bits of work, often with surprises inside like little charms or miniature paintings, that the leader of Russia gave as gifts to his wife, the Czarina, or his mother. After the revolution, the Soviets sold many of them off, and Forbes ended up with the most comprehensive collection of them, which is why a Forbes wrote the text.
They’re incredible pieces of work. Fabergé didn’t do the work himself, and the book identifies the masters who did when possible. The form factor of the book makes it a bit awkward to handle, especially when a cat wants to get onto your lap, but it does allow you to view the eggs larger-than-life. And where the eggs are not available for photography, a chronological presentation with line drawings appears at the end of the book.
A fascinating look at art and engineering probably best known as a James Bond prop.
