An extensive display of objets d'art, silver and jewelry designed by Peter Carl Fabergé and collected by American patrons and connoisseurs forms the stunning central exhibit in San Francisco's M.H. de Young Museum through July 28, 1996. Fabergé's reputation is due chiefly to his incomparable series of 56 imperial Easter eggs, created for Russian czars Alexander III and Nicholas II between 1884 and 1917. The earliest eggs, such as the "Renaissance egg" modeled after a late seventeenth century bonbonniere, were derivative in design, but Fabergé's creations soon became more and more ambitious, some taking up to two years of preparation. The Czar granted Fabergé total creative freedom, with the only precepts being that the pieces should be egg-shaped, contain a surprise, and not be repetitive in theme. A dozen or more of these exquisite eggs are included in this exhibition.

The scope of Fabergé's creativity included intricately enameled flowers, carved hardstone animals, jewelry pieces such as lapel watches and cuff links, silver tea sets, bowls and decanters, and personal effects from platinum hairpins to jeweled cigarette cases. The most jealously guarded technical secrets of the Fabergé workshops was their transparent (guilloché) enamel technique, in which several layers of a glasslike fluid tinted with mineral colors were applied to an engraved metal surface at decreasing temperatures. With much experimentation, Fabergé developed a palette of one hundred and forty-five hues from which clients could select.

American interest in Fabergé's work dates back to the turn of the century, when more than 4,000 millionaires traveled to the capitals of Europe, lavishly spending their new fortunes. Early collectors such as J.P. Morgan Jr. and Consuelo Vanderbilt, duchess of Marlborough, followed by Matilda Geddings Gray, Lillian Thomas Pratt, and the "king of Fabergé collectors", Malcolm S. Forbes, acquired Fabergé items in large quantities, first in St. Petersburg and later purchased from the Russian nobility establishing new homes after the revolution in 1917.

Hundreds of pieces exemplifying Fabergé's passion for innovation and awe-inspiring workmanship have been gathered from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Forbes Magazine Collection in New York, The Cleveland Museum of Art, and other American collections for this travelling exhibit that is sure to delight everyone. Tickets for the special Fabergé in America exhibit are $9.50 for adults, and can be purchased in advance at the de Young Museum (and through BASS outlets, with an extra service charged added). Advance purchase is recommended on weekends, but if you can visit the de Young during the week, it's likely that you can purchase your tickets on the spot. The de Young Museum is located in Golden Gate Park (near 9th Avenue) in San Francisco. For museum hours or more information, call 415/863-3330.