Garland and tinsel not enough sparkle for your holiday season? Then check out this overdose of brilliance at the Houston Museum of Natural Science – where you can see an incredible collection of objects and jewels created by the master goldsmith Carl Faberge. Currently on view through April 4th, the exhibition represents the largest personal collection of Faberge items assembled in the world.

The St.Petersburg Faberge workshops during the last years before the Revolution.

Included in this dazzling show are eye-dilating items like the very first egg created for Tsar Alexander III in 1885 as an Easter present for his wife, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, and a diamond tiara given as a gift from Tsar Alexander I to the Empress Josephine after she was divorced from Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only are these items incredible to look at, they are steeped with a deep significance involving one of the most tragic and bloodiest elements of Russian history.

Fire Screen Picture Frame, circa 1908-1917

Nicholas II Presentation Snuff Box, 1902

The Wedding Clock, made prior to 1896

Houston Museum of Natural Science, One Hermann Circle Drive, Houston, Tx 77030 ph. 713.639.4603

Filed under: Art & Culture, Houston by Stephen : 1 Comment »