Theo - Faberge - Eggs - St. Petersburg Collection - Faberge Descendants - Objet d'art - Faberge History
The origins of Mardi Gras go back to the rites of the Greek and Latin world, through the carnivals of Rome and Venice, to early Creole days and the Louisiana Purchase. The whimsy, color and celebration of Carnival have long fascinated Theo Fabergé, as this event traces some of its pageantry to Romanov Russia. In 1872 Grand Duke Alex Romanoff, a patron of Theo's grandfather Carl Fabergé, visited New Orleans and witnessed the first ever appearance of "Rex", King of the Carnival while bestowing the regal purple, green and gold upon the event.
"Carnival is a Butterfly of Winter whose last mad flight of Mardi Gras forever ends his glory" - so reads Perry Young's "The Mistick Krewe". The inspiration for Theo's Mardi Gras Egg comes from the butterfly featured one hundred years ago on the Lady's Admit Card. The butterfly's body is in raised 24 karat gold, its eyes brilliant rubies and the hand-engraved wings shimmering with the vibrant green, purple and gold of Mardi Gras. Hand-enameled, the mouth-blown crystal egg is poised on a base modeled on the Comus Throne at the French Opera House, and ornamentally turned on Theo's Holtzapffel lathe dating from 1861. The Russian Imperial crown set with a cabochon sapphire surmounts the Mardi Gras Egg.
