A tiny Fabergé figure sat forgotten in a New York attic until a family cleanout exposed its royal past; the 20th-century trinket later sold for $5.2 million

The $5.2 million Fabergé attic discovery therefore stands as more than an auction headline. It is a story about how history can survive in miniature, waiting silently for someone to recognize it. The figure of Nikolai Pustynnikov spent decades away from museums and royal collections before its identity was restored and its extraordinary value revealed.