Russian Billionaire’s Faberge Collection to Go on Permanent Display

ST. PETERSBURG, November 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s rare collection of works by tsarist jewelry maker the House of Faberge will go on permanent display at a palace in St. Petersburg.

The private Faberge Museum will open at the recently renovated Shuvalovsky Palace on November 19, said The Link of Times, a cultural and historical foundation founded by Vekselberg, the largest individual owner of Faberge eggs.

“Rare paintings and other works of art … are among the exhibits,” the foundation said in a statement.

The Link of Times manages the unique collection of about 4,000 artworks from the late 19th and early 20th century, including nine famous imperial Faberge eggs previously owned by the Romanov tsar family.

Faberge's masterpieces: history and manufacturing traditions

© RIA Novosti

It is yet unclear, however, whether all nine Faberge eggs will be showcased in the palace.

Vekselberg, head of aluminum, energy and telecom conglomerate Renova Group, bought the famous collection in 2004, months before it was to officially go under the hammer at Sotheby's auction house in New York. The exact value of the deal is unknown, but it has been estimated at more than $90 million.