December Auctions Highlight Record-Breaking Fabergé Egg and Unique Hippo Bar

December Auctions Showcase a Record-Breaking Fabergé Egg and Unique Hippo Bar

The upcoming December auctions at prestigious auction houses, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s, feature several significant pieces, including the remarkable Winter Egg by the House of Fabergé and a unique hippopotamus-shaped bar by François-Xavier Lalanne. These items are expected to attract considerable attention from collectors and art enthusiasts alike.

Fabergé’s Winter Egg: A Unique Imperial Piece

The Winter Egg, created in 1913, will be auctioned by Christie’s in London on December 2. This extraordinary piece is estimated to sell for over £20 million. Designed by Alma Theresia Pihl, one of the few female artisans at Fabergé, this egg commemorates the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.

Carved from rock crystal, the Winter Egg features intricate frost-like patterns and diamond-set platinum snowflakes. Inside, a platinum basket is adorned with quartz flowers and delicate green demantoid garnet leaves. As one of the rare Imperial Easter Eggs—only around 50 were produced, with just six held privately—this piece is poised to break auction records once again. Christie’s previously set the record for a Fabergé egg in 2007, when the Rothschild Egg sold for £8.9 million.

Lalanne’s Unique Hippopotamus Bar

Sotheby’s will auction Lalanne’s one-of-a-kind hippopotamus bar, estimated to fetch over $7 million, on December 10 in New York. This unique piece, commissioned by oil heiress Anne Schlumberger in the mid-1970s, is crafted from copper and is emblematic of Lalanne’s playful style.

The hippo bar reveals a revolving bottle rack, storage for glasses, an ice bucket, and a serving tray when opened. Schlumberger, a notable patron of Lalanne, reportedly used this bar for entertaining guests at her Houston residence. Accompanying the bar are two preparatory drawings that further enhance its provenance.

Additional Noteworthy Auctions

• Pieter Bruegel the Younger’s The Census at Bethlehem

  This piece will be featured at Sotheby’s in London on December 3, with estimates between £3 million and £5 million. It is a rare version of the original by Bruegel the Elder, depicting a Flemish village scene.

• L.S. Lowry’s Going to the Match

  Also on December 3, Bonhams will auction this unmistakable lithograph, estimated at £25,000 to £35,000. It relates closely to Lowry’s record-setting painting, Going to the Match, which sold for £7.8 million in 2022.

Collectors and art lovers will undoubtedly be eager to witness these auctions, as the Fabergé Winter Egg and Lalanne’s unique hippo bar hold significant cultural and financial value in the art world.