LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.- The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art presents "Fabergé: Treasures from the Kremlin," on view through January 26, 2003. Among the works exhibited are carved figurines, areligious triptych belonging to Nicholas II, a solid gold marriage cup, and two exquisite examples of Fabergé flowers bringing the total number of objects on display to nearly 200. These additionsare displayed alongside the priceless treasures from the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow, whichinclude three Imperial Easter eggs - the Uspensky Cathedral Egg, the Trans-Siberian Railway Egg,and the Alexandrovsky Palace Egg. Other additions include Daisies in a Rock Crystal Pot and Mountain Cranberries both dating fromaround 1900. Measuring little more than four inches, Daisies is a miniature masterpiece recreatingtwo daisies with diamond-set petals surrounding a yellow enamel center. The delicate stems, madeof gold, rise out of a pot with simulated water carved from a solid piece of clear rock crystal. Mountain Cranberries has tiny leaves carved from nephrite and carnelian cranberries in various stages of maturity. This work once belonged to the late English poet and novelist, Lady Sackville-West.

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art Chairman and curator to the exhibition, Marc Glimcher said, Fabergé flowers are particularly rare. Due to their incredible fragility it was crucial for us to find them in an American collection. These works represent very significant additions to our exhibition.”

A triptych icon decorated by the workshop of Carl Faberge also is to be included. Set in a gilded silver mount with enamel, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls the triptych was presented in 1895 to Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra by the Nobility of St. Petersburg on the birth of their first child, Olga. The work depicts the young family’s Patron Saints along with the Four Evangelists and six winged cherubim.

Other new additions include what many consider to be the greatest of Fabergé’s carved figurines, The Gypsy Singer Vara Panina, also will be on display. Vara Panina was well known in Moscow during the late Russian Empire when she sang at the restaurant Yar.nbsp;She eventually committed suicide by poison, suffering from unrequited love for a member of the Imperial Guard. The figurine is made of a variety of semi-precious stones and is set with diamonds, gold and silver. 

This work also is presented alongside a jasper chimpanzee on a gilded silver perch and a portrait of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna’s parrot carved from opal, complete with solid-gold cage and removable drawer. 

The prestigious New York firm, A La Vieille Russie agreed to lend from their private family collection these precious Fabergé artworks. Founded by the Schaffer family, the firm has been in operation for more than 150 years. A La Vieille Russie is the fourth lender to Fabergé: Treasures from the Kremlin, joining the Kremlin Museums in Moscow and the private collections of John Traina and André Ruzhnikov.

“We are extremely fortunate to have these rare pieces on loan from the Schaffer family. The subjects and histories of these works are very notable,” said Andrea Bundonis, president of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. 

The name of Peter Carl Fabergé embodies the romance and splendor that was imperial Russia.nbsp;Born in St. Petersburg in 1846, he is  considered one of the greatest craftsmen in history. At the end of the 19th century, his firm was sought after by crowned heads and wealthy elite the world over. But his greatestlegacy was the exquisite objects he created for the Emperor of Russia. Accompanying the exhibition is an audio tour written and narrated by Archduke Géza von Habsburg.Dr. von Habsburg is the former President of Christie’s Europe and one of the world’s leading authorities on European Decorative Arts and the work of Peter Carl Fabergé.