Russian buys Faberge trove

A prominent Russian industrialist, Victor Vekselberg, bought the Forbes Collection of Faberge Wednesday for an undisclosed sum, Sotheby’s announced Wednesday.

The collection had been scheduled for auction in New York on April 20, but Sotheby’s negotiated the private deal on behalf of the Forbes family.

The collection “represents perhaps the most significant example of our cultural heritage outside Russia,” Vekselberg said in a statement. “The religious, spiritual and emotional content captured by these Faberge eggs touches upon the soul of the Russian people.”

Only 50 Imperial Easter Eggs are known to have been created by the House of Faberge, and the collection acquired by Vekselberg includes nine of them.

-- Louise Roug