麻豆约拍

John Rowe reads an extract from Toby Faber's new book about jewellery designer to the Romanovs Carl Faberge, in which he explores the inspiration behind the designs of the famous Faberge eggs.

The setting is early 20th Century St Petersburg, where we travel to Faberge's workshop, meet the man as he instructs his workers and hear from famous tourists who visited him at this time, including British diplomat Harold Nicolson and Consuelo Vanderbilt. The extract captures the edgy excitement of the period - the artistic community is thriving, St Petersburg is rivalling Paris on the global stage and yet signs of the growing dissatisfaction with the ruling elite are emerging.