Fabergé Museum

The museum's collection contains different items, made by Fabergé, but also a number of Fauxbergé pieces, including several eggs, as denounced by several Fabergé experts on occasion of an exhibition held in the Hermitage Museum in 2020-2021.

Ivanov said his museum building cost about 17 million euros to buy and renovate, including a 1 million euro security system. He chose Baden-Baden, near Germany’s western border, because it is “quiet and nice, middle in Europe, close to France and Switzerland, a resort for the rich, and historically it has always been the most popular resort for Russians.”{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQnwTBzLDamM&refer=home|title=Tycoon Ivanov Reveals $1.5 Billion Faberge Surprise for Germany|publisher=Bloomberg}}

Ivanov said that one reason that he opened the museum in Germany was due to safety concerns. He told Britain's Independent newspaper: "It's very difficult [in Russia] because of all the administrative barriers [...] You have to be indebted to someone, and you can never feel that your collection is safe – not from the state, not from bandits, not from anyone. In Germany we spend serious money on security of course, but at least you know that the state itself won't do anything."[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/russian-billionaire-feathers-his-faberg233-nest-egg-2155869.html Russian billionaire feathers his Fabergé nest egg], Independent

The museum's first year was marked by a bitter court conflict. In April 2009, just a month before the official opening, a company calling itself Faberge Ltd. that is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned by the Gilbertson family of South Africa filed a lawsuit over rights to the Fabergé trademark. This made the Fabergé museum’s first year a difficult one. While the case was pending, the museum couldn’t use the Fabergé name, which meant no advertising or even a sign on the door. In January 2010, a German court ruled in favor of the Fabergé Museum, and it immediately began to resume functioning with full right to use the Fabergé name.[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-11/tycoon-ivanov-vies-faberge-boosts-2-billion-museum-collection.html``Tycoon Ivanov Vies Faberge, Boosts $2 Billion Museum Collection''], Bloomberg

In May 2012, the Fabergé Museum opened a new permanent exhibition titled Gold of the World. It consists of just over 100 gold items from various civilizations and continents that date from the 6th century B.C. up until the mid-20th century. Among the items are an ancient Iranian chalice, ancient Greek jewelry, Fabergé cigarette cases, Aztec and Inca gold jewelry, and a very rare 18th-century British gold trophy.[http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=56262#.UAx7-2iwdSo "Fabergé Museum opens a new permanent exhibition dedicated to gold jewelry over the past 2,500 years"], Art Daily

The most significant item in the museum's collection was the Rothschild Fabergé egg, which was made as an engagement gift from Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild to her brother's fiancée. Ivanov bought it at Christie's auction house in London on 28 November 2007, for £8 million (£8,980,500 including buyer's premium),£9m that broke three world records, Daily Mail, 29 November 2007 almost $16.5 million at the time.

On 8 December 2014, Russia's President Vladimir Putin gifted the Rothschild Fabergé egg to the Hermitage Museum on occasion of its 250th anniversary. Days before this gift was made, German customs officers, accompanied by British counterparts, raided the Fabergé Museum. Ivanov said that the officers' actions and its timing was politically motivated, coming amid tensions between the West and Russia, and hoping to ruin the publicly announced Hermitage gift ceremony and embarrass Russia's head of state.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-15/putin-the-oligarch-and-the-14-million-faberg-egg|title=Putin, the Oligarch, and the Tax Dispute over a $14 Million Fabergé Egg|date=16 December 2014|via=www.bloomberg.com}} In reply, British investigators at the behest of UK's HM Revenue and Customs department, claimed that the museum had failed to pay nearly £70,000 in Value Added Tax (VAT) on artifacts purchased over the past 15 years at major auction houses in London. The raids were carried out with support from Germany's Financial Investigation and Customs Department. The museum denied the charges and declared that nothing incriminating was found during the operation.{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tax-agents-raid-faberge-museum-194842|title=Tax Agents Raid Fabergé Museum|date=11 December 2014|via=www.new.artnet.com}}

About the Rothschild Egg, when Ivanov bought the egg in London in 2007 he claimed a VAT refund of approximately £600,000{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/tax-agents-accused-of-using-faberge-raid-to-thwart-putin-n6nwgp9x0tv|title=Tax agents accused of using Fabergé raid to thwart Putin|date=11 December 2014|via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2014-12-11|title=Британскую налоговую инспекцию обвинили в попытке расстроить планы Путина|url=https://www.inopressa.ru/article/11Dec2014/times/ivanov.html|website=inopressa.ru|language=ru}} because he had the egg shipped to Russia, which exempted the purchase from EU tax, but investigators suspected it had been first transported to Germany. When investigators raided the museum, its director told them that the egg had been loaned to Baden-Baden briefly for an exhibition and then sent back to Moscow.{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/12/12/british-tax-agents-raid-museum-in-search-of-putins-faberge-egg-report-says-a42232|title=British Tax Agents Raid Museum in Search of Putin's Faberge Egg, Report Says|date=12 December 2014|via=www.themoscowtimes.com}}

In January 2021, an art dealer specialized in Fabergé claimed in an open letter{{Cite web|title=Forgeries in the Hermitage. An open letter to Mikhail Piotrovsky|url=https://www.ruzhnikov.com/forgeries-in-the-hermitage-letter-to-mr-piotrovsky/|access-date=|website=Ruzhnikov.com|language=en}} to the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky that a number of items (including five eggs){{Cite web|title=Forgeries in the Hermitage. 'Wedding Anniversary Egg'|url=https://www.ruzhnikov.com/forgeries-in-the-hermitage-the-wedding-anniversary-egg/|access-date=|website=Ruzhnikov.com|language=en}} on display at the exhibition “Fabergé: Jeweller to the Imperial Court” (25 November 2020 – 14 March 2021), were fakes (so-called Fauxbergé). The scandal was echoed by the international press.{{Cite web|title=In an Explosive Claim, an Art Dealer Says the Hermitage’s Fabergé Exhibition Is Full of ‘Tawdry Fakes’ From a Single Oligarch’s Collection|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/faberge-ivanov-hermitage-museum-1940514|access-date=|website=ArtnetNews.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=À Saint-Pétersbourg, l'exposition Fabergé de l'Ermitage brille-t-elle de mille faux ?|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/a-saint-petersbourg-l-exposition-faberge-de-l-ermitage-brille-t-elle-de-mille-faux-20210201|access-date=|website=lefigaro.fr|language=fr}}{{Cite web|title=Russian Fabergé exhibition contains 'at least 20 fakes', expert says|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/01/russian-faberge-exhibition-contains-fakes-expert-says|access-date=|website=theguardian.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Al menos “20 falsificaciones de mal gusto” en una exposición de Fabergé, según un experto|url=https://www.larazon.es/cultura/20210202/6h3zk6jfmrb35jw3kkwm6ergqi.html|access-date=|website=larazon.es|language=es}}{{Cite web|title=Museo dell’Ermitage accusato di esporre false uova di Fabergé|url=https://artemagazine.it/2021/02/04/museo-dell-ermitage-accusato-di-esporre-false-uova-di-faberge/|access-date=|website=artemagazine.it|language=it}}{{Cite web|title=Authenticity Dispute Over Hermitage Fabergé Exhibit|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/02/17/authenticity-dispute-over-hermitage-faberge-exhibit-a72982|access-date=|website=themoscowtimes.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=

Fabergé eggs: Jewels of the Russian crown|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faberge-eggs-jewels-of-the-russian-crown/|access-date=|website=cbsnews.com|language=en}}

Fabergé scholar Geza von Habsburg told the BBC regarding this issue: "Judging by the photographs and descriptions published online, all of the so-called 're-found Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs' from the museum in Baden-Baden displayed in this exhibition are fakes, in my opinion." Other leading Fabergé experts such as Alexander von Solodkoff and Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm also doubted its authenticity.{{Cite web|title=Роковые яйца. История скандальной выставки Фаберже в Эрмитаже и тех, кто за ней стоит|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-56033898|access-date=|website=bbc.com/ru|language=ru}}

At least 46 of the 91 items displayed in the Hermitage temporary exhibition came from the Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden. According to the art dealer who uncovered the scandal, around 40% of 91 Fabergé items exhibited were counterfeits.{{Cite web|title=Fauxbergé by The Neva: A Ship of Fools|url=https://www.ruzhnikov.com/fauxberge-by-the-neva-a-ship-of-fools/|access-date=|website=Ruzhnikov.com|language=en}}

• Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Fauxbergé

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Fabergé Museum (Baden-Baden)}}
• [http://www.faberge-museum.de/index.php?lang=en Fabergé Museum website]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faberge Museum}}

Category:Art museums and galleries in Baden-Württemberg

Category:Fabergé

Category:Buildings and structures in Baden-Baden

Category:Decorative arts museums in Germany

Category:Art museums and galleries established in 2007

Category:2007 establishments in Germany