Holy crap, that's awesome! Very beautiful, Saga.
OK, now I feel stupid posting my crappy little snap shots, but here there are:
I went to the Faberge exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. Some local family has been collecting Faberge for freakin' ever, and have allowed their collection to be put on display--but only in Houston. It was really something. The pictures don't do it justice--it's all behind thick glass, under dim yellow lights. They let anyone take pictures but there can be no flash, so the pics just don't come out right, especially with a cheap pocket camera like mine.
Faberge was jeweler and goldsmith to the Russian imperial court, from 1885 until the revolution of 1917, so most of the pieces in the exhibit at one time belonged to the Romanovs at some point.
cigarette cases, in gold and enamel
cane-topper: a little jade hippo with ruby eyes
card box, stone (marble?) and enamel
trinket and snuff boxes, 1) enamel, silver and diamonds 2)enamel, gold and diamonds
There were a few of these itty-bitty flowers, but what's amazing is that every bit of it--even the pot-is handcrafted. It's a quartz pot, so it looks like water, a gold stem, enamel leaves, sapphires and diamonds for the flower.
