Forbes’ Faberges to be auctioned

The family of the late publisher Malcolm Forbes said Thursday it would sell the world’s largest private collection of fabled Faberge imperial Easter eggs and other Faberge creations for an estimated $90 million.

The eggs, considered a standard for rare treasures, were first commissioned by Russian Czar Alexander III from the House of Faberge master crafters in 1885 as Easter gifts for his wife, Czarina Maria Feodorovna. The tradition continued for 30 years in the Romanov imperial family. There are 50 of them in the world including the nine owned by the Forbes family.

Sotheby’s auction house said the nine eggs and 180 other Faberge pieces would be offered at auction in New York on April 20 and 21. A presale public exhibition opens on April 12 at Sotheby’s.

Forbes’ eggs have been displayed at shows worldwide since his death 14 years ago.

The last Faberge imperial egg to go on auction was sold for $9.57 million at Christie’s in 2002, a Sotheby’s spokesman said.