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Treasure hunting with direct-arrival transmission imaging	943
Stonehenge	661
The Industrial Role of Copper at Jamestown	633
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Archaeology assessor's kit	584
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Arlington Report	538

[Bart]

1912 Czarevich Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

lapis lazuli, gold, platinum, diamonds, ivory

height 12,5 x 8,9 cm (4"15/16 x 3"1/2) - frame 9,5 x 5,7 cm (3"3/4 x 2"1/4)



   This Louis XV cagework style egg was fashioned in lapis-lazuli and ornamented with with gold tracery of shells, scrolls, baskets of flowers, and putti. It was topped with a tabletop diamond showing the initials of the Czarina, the Imperial crown, and the year (1912). The bottom is set with a large diamond.



   The surprise inside is the Russian double-headed Imperial eagle, covered front and back with diamonds, with a miniature enamelled protrait of the Czarevich Alexei Nicholaevich on the eagle's chest. The reverse side of the miniature shows the back of the seven year old Alexei. The miniature is not signed and comparing the beauty of the Egg and the poor quality of the picture, it is assumed that the original painting got lost and was replaced by the present one.

   It wasn't very well known, of course - the Imperial family kept it very quiet - that the Czarevich had hemophilia. He was dying; he was very close to death, so close that the Imperial Court had already written out his death notice. But Alexei survived, and Faberg? designed a special tribute. The Czarevich egg was Alexandra's most cherished.

[Bart]

1912 Napoleonic Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

gold, enamel, diamonds, platinum, ivory, velvet, silk

height: 11,7 cm (4"5/8)



New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana, USA (Gray Collection)



   This egg commemorates the centenary of Russia's victory over the armies of Napoleon, and in particular the victory at Borodino, in 1812. Double-headed eagles and battle trophies embellish the green shell. Like enormous history-painting cycles from earlier centuries, the Napoleonic Egg celebrates past royal glories while appealing to Russian patriotism at a time when the Romanov dynasty once again faced the uncertainties of war.

   The Napoleonic Egg is one of only two Imperial Easter Eggs for which design drawings have so far been found, the other being the 1909 Standart Egg.

   Maria served as honorary colonel for the six regiments depicted in watercolor, and her monogram decorates the back of each panel. These panels, signed Vasilii Zuiev and dated 1912, form a screen whose hinges are ax-topped fasces, a warlike emblem in use since Roman times.



   In 1930 the Napoleonic Egg was one of the ten Eggs sold to the Hammer Galleries, New York. 1937 was in a private collection. 1951 owned by Matilda Geddings Gray, oil-heiress. 1971 Collection of the late Matilda Geddings Gray, 1972 Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation, New Orleans Museum of Art, USA.

[Bart]

  1913 Tercentenary of Romanoff's House Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

gold, silver, steel, diamonds, turquoise, rock crystal, purpurine, ivory

height 7"1/2 (19 dia 7,8 cm)



   During the reign of Nicholas II, the 300th anniversary of the rule of the Romanov Dynasty was celebrated in 1913 with great ceremony and opulence. This Easter Egg commemorates this event.



   The decoration shows a rich use of elements of state symbolism. The gold egg, faced with white transparent enamel on a guilloche (1) ground, is decorated with applied stamped two-headed eagles, royal crowns and wreaths and eighteen miniature portraits (see) of the czars of the House of Romanov, from Michael Fyodorovich, to Catherine the Great, to Nicholas II. These are in round diamond frames, painted in watercolor on ivory by the artist Vassily I. Zuev. The white enameled shell of this egg is nearly obscured by over eleven hundred diamonds and golden symbols of royal order.

   A large diamond bearing the dates "1613" and "1913" is secured at the top of the egg, while a large triangular diamond fixed to the bottom end covers the monogram "A.F." The egg rests upon a threefold heraldic eagle, symbolizing the power and glory of Russia and Romanoff's Dynasty, which in turn stands on a circular base of purple, imitating a state shield. The base is constructed of purpurine, decorated with small enamel patterns, and secured on three supports cast in the shape of flattened pellets.

   Traditionally, the egg held a surprise, which would become visible when the hinged lid was opened. Here, the interior of the lid is decorated with a delightful illustration in white opalescent enamel on a ground carved with guilloche ornament. A rotating globe is attached to the inside of the egg; it is made of burnished blue steel, imitating the sea. The land on the globe is executed in gold of several colors. The globe consists of two northern hemispheres. One half shows the territory of Russia at the end of 1613, the date of accession to the throne of the first Romanov Czar, Mikhail Feodorovich. The other shows the territory of the Russian Empire in 1913, under Nicholas II.

   The creative fantasy of the artists of the Faberg? firm was unparalleled. In this example, a significant historical theme has been given splendid artistic expression. One of the most important events in the history of the royal family and in Russian life at the beginning of the 20th century has been preserved in the form of a jeweled souvenir, yet the work's historical significance has not diminished its artistic expressiveness.

[Bart]

1913 Winter Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

white topaz (=rock-crystal), 2,676 rose-diamonds, 360 brilliants, topaz, platinum, nephrite

overall height 14,2 cm (5"5/8) - height of the egg 10,2cm (4") - height of the surprise 8,2cm (3")

   On a rock-crystal base formed as a block of melting ice, applied with platinum-mounted rose-diamond rivulets, the hinged rock-crystal detachable egg held vertically above by a pin and with rose-diamond set platinum borders, graduated around the hinge and enclosing in the top a cabochon moonstone painted on the reverse with the date 1913, the thinly carved transparent body of the egg finely engraved on the interior to simulate ice crystals, the outside further engraved and applied in carved channels with similar rose-diamond set platinum motifs, opening vertically.



   The surprise is a platinum double-handled trelliswork basket, set with rose-diamonds and full of wood anemones, suspended from a platinum hook, each flower realistically carved from a single piece of white quartz with gold wire stem and stamens, the centre set with a demantoid garnet, some carved half open or in a bud, the leaves delicately carved in nephrite, emerging from a bed of gold moss, thebase of the basket engraved in Roman letters "Faberg? 1913".



   The Winter Egg was the most expensive egg - it costed just under 25,000 rubles, or about $12,500 (of 1913). The Winter Egg was in 1927 one of the nine Imperial Eggs sold by the Antikvariat to Emanuel snowman of Wartski, London. 1934 sold to lord Alington, London. 1935 Owner anonym. 1848 owned by the late Sir Bernard Eckstein, UK. 1949 sold by Sotheby's London to a. bryan Ledbrook, UK. Disappeared around 1975 after Mr. Ledbrook died. 1994 located in a London safe. November 1994 sold by Christie's Geneva on behalf of a trust to a telephone bidder, acting for a US buyer. 2002 sold by Christie's New York to a bidder acting for the Emir of Qatar.

[Bart]

1914 Mosaic Egg



gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topazes, sapphires, garnets, pearls, enamel

Height: 9,5 cm (height miniature: 7,9 cm)

   This beautiful Easter Egg consists of a system of yellow gold belts, to which ia applied a platinum network partially pav?-set with diamonds and colored gems, including sapphires, rubies, emeralds, topaz quartz and green garnets in flower patterns. This technique gives the look of petit point tapestry work, partly completed. It is divided into five oval panels set with half-pearls within lines of opaque white enamel. Five brilliant diamonds are set at each intersection. The Egg is further decorated by grilles of rose-cut diamond scrolls and the rounder end is set with a moonstone through which may be seen the gold initials of the tsarina in russian characters, inlaid in an opaque, pale pink enameled plaque serving as a foil.



   The design books of Albert Holstrom record the central motif of the panels in a brooch dated 24 July 1913. The design is by Alma Theresia Pihl, daughter of Faberge's workmaster Oskar Pihl.



   The surprise is a jewelled and enamelled miniature frame painted with the profiles in camaieu brun of the five Imperial children on an opalescent pink enamel ground surrounded by green enamel husk and pearls, surmounted by an Imperial crown set with rose diamonds.



   The reverse is enamelled with the names of the imperial children, a vase of flowers, and the date "1914". The oval base with vase-shaped white enamel stem is set with rose diamonds, emeralds, and two suspended pearls. The surprise is concealed inside and held in place by two gold clips

[Bart]

1914 Catherine the Great Egg (or Grisaille Egg,
or Cameo Egg)

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

   This Egg may best represent the height of Faberg?'s career, expressions in miniature of the life of Imperial privilege. Henrik Wigstr?m, Faberg?'s last head workmaster, created this egg for Nicholas II to present to his mother, Maria Fyodorovna, on Easter morning in 1914. Vasilii Zuev, a designer employed by the firm, painted the monochrome in cameo style (en cama?eu) pink enamel panels with miniature allegorical scenes of the arts and sciences after French artist Fran?ois Boucher. It was kept at Maria's favorite Anichkov Palace and it was inspired by the opulent embellishments of the palace interior, where many of the ceilings are painted en grisaille.



   The Faberg? skill with mechanics is revealed in the automatons - wind-up figures, such as Catherine the Great's sedan chair, that strut their way out of the eggs. To feature Catherine the Great, who prided herself on being a patron of the arts and sciences, as part of the surprise is certainly in keeping with this elaborate egg's style and imagery.
According to a letter from Maria Fyodorovna to her sister, Queen Alexandra of England, the surprise was incredibly beautiful:

   "Mr. Faberg? himself has brought me this most beautiful egg. Inside is a sedan chair carried by two Africans with Catherine the Great in it. And she has a little crown on her head. You wind it up and the two Africans walk. Can you imagine?"

   By the time Armand Hammer acquired the egg in 1930 from the Antikvariat (the Soviet agency that supervised Russian art sales), the surprise had been lost. Marjorie Merriweather Post received the egg from her daughter Eleanor in 1931.



   (N.B. the "sedan chairs" here represented are not the one constituing the surprise of Catherine Egg, but it can give you an idea of what it could be like. This one was also made by Faberg?, and belongs to Forbes' Collection). For a long time it was thought that the picture at right, a mechanical chair from the Forbes' Magazine Collection (now The Link of Times-Collection), was the surprise from the Catherine the Great Egg. However when the Manager of the Hillwood Museum came to the New York auction with the Egg, it was a big disappointment to everyone that the surprise did not fit into the Egg en therefore was n?t the long lost surprise.

[Bart]

1915  Red Cross Egg with Triptych 

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

gold, silver, enamel, glass

Height: 8,6 cm (3"3/8)

   When India Early Minshall purchased this egg in 1944, she had already written "The Story of My Russian Cabinet", noting, "Faberg? was called the Cellini of the North, but I do not think any jeweler can ever be compared to him." Wartime economy prevailed in the making of this austere jewel in 1915. Its severe red crosses are embellished with portraits of Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. Like their mother, Czarina Alexandra (for whom the egg was made), the two girls were active in the Red Cross during the First World War.

   The two miniature portraits of the two Grand Duchesses are probably by the court painter Vasilii Zuiev, who painted the miniatures for the companion Red Cross Portraits Egg. This is one of the few Tsar Imperial Easter Eggs that opens vertically. The 1913 Winter Egg is another.

   Inside the egg, the central scene is the Harrowing of Hell, the Orthodox representation of the Resurrection, i.e. thr Christ awakening the dead after the Resurrection. Saint Olga, the founder of Christianity in Russia is represented on the left wing of the triptych. The martyr Saint Tatiana is on the right. The interior miniatures are executed by Adrian Prachow, who specialized in icons. The remaining two panels of the doors are inscribed with the crown monogram of the tsarina, and the other one with the year "1915". Czar Nicholas, engaged in the war effort at the front, was unable to present the egg personally to the czarina.

[Bart]

1915 Red Cross Egg with Imperial Portraits

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

gold, silver, enamel, mother of pearl, ivory, diamonds, rock cristal, pearl

height 3" x 2"3/8 (7,7 x 6 cm)

When World War I broke out in 1914, the trouble that had loomed at the edge of the Romanov's awareness began to penetrate the protective shell of imperial privilege. In response to the suffering of their people, and in an attempt to present an image of patriotism and concerned involvement, Alexandra enrolled herself and her older daughters in nurses' training and had the palaces converted into provisional hospitals to care for the increasing number of wounded.

Meanwhile, the Czar spent more and more time at the front with his armies. Alexandra wrote daily to her husband:

20 November 1914. "This morning we were present (I help as always giving the instruments and Olga threaded the needles) at our first big amputation. Whole leg was cut off. I washed and cleaned and bandaged all up."
25 November 1915. "During an operation a soldier died. Olga and Tatiana behaved well; none lost their heads and the girls were brave. They had never seen death. But he died in a minute. How near death always is."

At that time, there was great hope that Russia would yet prevail in the war, and Faberg? was asked to continue the tradition of Imperial Easter eggs. But to match the solemn mood of the nation and reflect the noble efforts of the family, Faberg? wisely altered the tone of the Easter gifts that year.
Inside the Red Cross egg given to the Dowager Empress Maria, are portraits of the Romanov women dressed as Sisters of Mercy. Inscribed inside are the words, "Greater Love hath no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends."



Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the Tsar's sister, Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaievna, his eldest daughter, Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicholaievna, the Tsar's second daughter, and Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, the Tsar's first cousin.


A photograph taken during the First World War, of Tsarina Alexandra and the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana in their nurses' uniforms.

[Bart]

1916 Steel Military Egg

Presented by Nicholas II to Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna

gold, steel, nephrite
 
Height: 10,1 cm. (incl. stand: 16,7 cm.) miniature: 6,5 cm.



   Faberg? had to close down his workshops because his craftsman were all at the front. He was unable to continue to make these objects of art. He had no more precious materials. Gold and silver were no longer allowed to be handled by jewelers at that time so it was steel and brass and copper that they were using. And the imperial family could also not be seen ordering expensive things from Faberg? at a time when Russia was bleeding to death.

   The steel egg, with gold patterns surmounted by a gold crown, rests on four artillery shells. It is divided into three sections by two smooth horizontal lines. In the middle section, in inlaid gold, is an image of George the Conqueror in a diamond-shaped frame outlined in laurel leaves, the Russian emblem, consisting of a double-headed eagle beneath three crowns; and the monogram of Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, also encircled by a laurel wreath. Resting on the points of four miniature artillery shells, the Steel Military egg (1916) makes up in sober significance what it lacks in ornamentation.

   This was the year that Faberg? had to close his workshops because all his craftsman were at the front. It was impossible for him to create any works of art. There were no materials, as gold and silver were forbidden for jewelers to work with. So he had to use steel and copper. On the other hand it seemed inappropriate when the Imperial family was noticed to buy expensive works of art while the country and its people were bleeding because of the war.

   The story goes that in 1916, when Nicholas II was far from home at the front, he sent a telegram to Faberg? asking him to deliver that years Egg to the Tsarina at Tsarskoye Selo. On Easter eve Eug?ne Faberg? acted for the very last time in father's name. He was received by the Tsarina and her five children and gave to her what must have been one of the most simple objects ever made by Faberg? for the Imperial Family; an egg, made of black steel with the initials of the Tsarina in gold.

   Believing as many did that now the Czar would overcome the difficulties, Faberg? designed this eggs to applaud the event. For the Czarina, Vassily Zuiev painted on ivory an image of Nicholas consulting with his officers at the front, as a surprise. On an easel there is a gold and white enamel frame displaying the emblem of the Order of St George surmounted by a golden crown. The frame encloses a miniature painting on ivory by Vassily Zuiev depicting Czar Nicholas II and his son at the Front.

   Alexandra sent a telegram to Nicholas II at the front, which reads in part:

   "Faberg? has just brought your delightful egg for which I thank you a thousand times. The miniature group is marvelous and all the portraits are excellent".

[Bart]

1916 Order of Saint George Egg (or Cross of St George Egg)

Presented by Nicholas II to Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna

height 8,4 cm (3"5/16)



   The egg honors the Order of St George, which was awarded for military bravery. The mat opalescent white enamel egg is under painted with a green enamel garlanded trellis which frames St. George crosses in white and red enamel.



A ribbon in the Order's colors of black and orange, encircles two medals; one mounted with the Order of the Cross of St. George (verso) and the second of silver chased with the portrait of Czar Nicholas II in profile (recto).



   The badges lift to reveal painted miniatures of Tsar Nicholas and Tsarevitch Alexis respectively. The silver crowned monogram of the Dowager Empress surmounts the egg; the date of presentation in silver is set directly below. It costed 13,347 rubles.



   "I kiss you three times and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dear postcards and the delightful egg with the miniatures that dear Faberg? himself came with. Amazingly beautiful. It is so sad not to be together. I wish you, my dear Nicky with all my heart, all the best things and success in everything. Your warmly loving, old Mama."

   She never returned to St. Petersburg, and when she was finally evacuated on a British cruiser, she carried it with her. It was the egg she held most dear. When she died, it was left to her daughter, the Grand Duchess Olga, Nicholas II's sister. After her death, it passed to her oldest son, Prince Vassily, who sold it at Sotheby's on 27 November, 1961 for 11,000 pounds. It was later purchased by Faberg?, Inc. and then acquired by ALVR for sale to the Forbes Collection in 1976.

   After eighty years of exile this egg has been returned home thanks to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, Chairman of board of directors of Open Society "Sual-holding" who has purchased it from successors to Malcolm Forbes and has made it accessible to the Russian citizens. Sale of the Forbes' collection from Sotheby's auction in the beginning of 2004 could make objects channel off in separate collections and countries. Purchasing of the whole collection by V. Vekselberg before the advertised bidding is unprecedented in auction practice.

   The surprise, a rectangular frame surmounted by a miniature crowned cross of the Order and its entwined orange and black ribbons, contains a miniature of the Tsar and his beloved son in military uniform at the Front.

[Bart]

1917 Blue Tsarevich Constellation Egg

*Intended by Nicholas II for Alexandra Fyodorovna, not finished and never presented to her

dark blue glass, probably silver (missing), opaque rock crystal, rose-cut diamonds



   In 1999, the publication of drawings from the Wigstr?m workshops alerted scholars to the fact that two eggs were designed for delivery in 1917. One, the "Constellation Egg" in the form of a celestial globe bearing the constellations present on the birth of the Tsarevitch Alexei, and the other, "The Birch Egg" crafted of Karelian Birch panels set in gold. Tatiana Faberg? released images of the drawings for these pieces, but, it was believed, the pieces were never finished.



   The last, unfinished, Easter egg ever designed by Faberg?, the Blue Tsarevich Constellation Egg was found in 2001 at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow. The Egg is made of dark blue glass and engraved with the star constellation of the day of the Tsarevich's birth. Lined with rose diamonds, it has has an opaque rock crystal base.

   Only the clockwork and the dial itself were missing, as well as the lager part of the diamond stars. Reportedly the egg was in production for presentation to Alexandra Fyodorovna but was never finished due to the abdication of the Tsar prior to Easter 1917.

   Agathon Faberg?, one of the sons of the jeweller Karl Faberg?, who was forced by the communist regime to work on the inventory of the Imperial treasures, sent a large quantity of jewellery stones to the Fersman Museum. He also presented angular stones from his collection, a splendid vase from rock crystal in the renaissance style, and the pieces of the last Easter egg to be created by the firm Faberg?. Curatorial records in the Archives of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum date the receipt of this gift in the year 1925.

   On the night of 16-17 September 1917, a train arrived in Moscow, packed with valuable property of the former palace department in St. Petersburg. Boxes with treasures, which belonged to the Imperial Family, were delivered into the Moscow Kremlin. Among the treasures were the Easter Eggs of the firm Faberg?.

   Many small masterpieces were exported from Russia and sold abroad. Of the Easter Eggs, only ten remained in Russia. The eleventh egg, the 1917 Blue Tsarevich Constellation Egg, which was thought to have disappeared, all this time was stored in the reserves of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum.



 Nr. 1 Shown in an article from the Russian Embassy in Chile

Nr. 2 Egg as exhibited in Munich (2003-2004) with the addition of a metal band

Nr. 3 Exhibited in Brussels (2005-2006) Note: Modern white band of Plexiglas, to preserve the glass halves, was added by specialists from State Scientific Research Institute of Restoration, Moscow

Nr. 4 Published in an article by The Art Newspaper (June 2005)



   Faberg? experts have suggested egg nr. 4 may be a modern egg modelled after the unfinished 1917 original Faberg? Egg found in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Moscow.

[Bart]

1917 The Birch Egg

* Intended by Nicholas II for Maria Fyodorovna, but never presented to her

   In 1999, the publication of drawings from the Wigstr?m workshops alerted scholars to the fact that two eggs were designed for delivery in 1917. One, the "Constellation Egg" in the form of a celestial globe bearing the constellations present on the birth of the Tsarevitch Alexei, and the other, "The Birch Egg" crafted of Karelian Birch panels set in gold. Tatiana Faberg? released images of the drawings for these pieces, but, it was believed, the pieces were never finished.

   Soon, it was revealed, unfinished pieces of the "Constellation Egg" were in the collections of the Fersman Mineralogical Institute in Moscow, to which the leftover pieces in the Faberg? workshops had been removed after the Revolution. The fate of the other egg remained a mystery for years.



   In November 2001, it was announced by the Russian National Museum (a for-profit museum based in Moscow), that the last Imperial Egg had been purchased by the museum out of a private collection in London, where the egg had resided since leaving Russian soil in 1927. Ivanov declined to name the egg's previous owner - who he said lives in London and is descended from a family of Russian emigres.

   The egg is made of Karelian birch rather than the usual gold and precious gems that made Faberge famous.

   Ivanov said it is the egg's history, rather than its physical composition, that makes it so valuable. Its purchase included the transfer of all of the egg's original documentation - including the invoice from its sale and a letter from Faberge to transitional government head Alexander Kerensky. "The letter alone could cost $100,000 because it is an original historical document," Ivanov said. In the letter, Faberge complains about having not been paid and asks Kerensky to send the egg to Nicholas II.

   The egg was delivered to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch for presentation to the Empress, but he fled his palace before it arrived. It sat in the palace, abandoned, until it turned up in an inventory taken five days after the October revolution.

   The February Revolution occurred just 32 days before Easter on April 1, 1917, and Nicholas II obtained the egg after paying 12,500 rubles ($6,000 at the time) - despite having already abdicated.

   The Rumyantsevsky Museum (now the Lenin Library) acquired the egg after the October Revolution. In January 1927, the museum closed and 450 items - including the egg - were sold by the Soviet government to foreign buyers. Experts can only speculate about the egg's whereabouts before it surfaced in London.

   The egg does not even contain Faberge's trademark surprise hidden inside - anymore.

   Because the downturn of Russian fortunes during World War I and the increasingly revolutionary mood in the country made it impolitic for the tsar to commission bejeweled Easter eggs after 1916, the egg was fashioned from birch and gold bands. Inside, though, Faberge crafted an expensive surprise: a mechanical elephant with eight large diamonds, 61 small diamonds and a diamond-studded key engraved "MF" - for Maria Fyodorevna. The elephant has since been lost - it was likely stolen by soldiers during the October Revolution.

   The Birch Egg carries with it a postscript, in the form of its invoice. Nicholas abdicated on March 15, 1917. Faberg?'s invoice, dated April 25, is made out not to the "Tsar of all the Russias", but simply to "Mr. Romanov Nikolai Aleksandrovich"...

[Bart]

1886 Lapis lazuli Hen Egg

Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

lapislazuli, gold, enamel, pearls, diamonds, rubies

height 2" 5/16 (64 mm)

   On Easter Sunday, the reigning Czar would present an Imperial Egg to his wife. Faberg?'s Imperial Egg designs became the object of great anticipation by the Imperial Court, whom Faberg? delighted in surprising with Imperial Eggs each more magnificent than the last. The Egg has no visible Faberg? markings.

   On Easter morning, Faberg? delivers to the palace what appears to be a simple enameled egg. But to the delight of the Empress, inside is a golden yolk; within the yolk is a golden hen with ruby eyes; and concealed within the hen is a diamond miniature of the royal crown and a tiny ruby egg.

   His wife's delight is all the Czar needs to reward Faberg? with a commission for an Easter egg every year. The requirements are straightforward: each egg must be unique, and each must contain a suitable surprise for the Empress. With consummate craftsmanship and an inventive spirit, Faberg? repeatedly meets the challenge, borrowing inspiration from the gilded lives of the Czar and Czarina.

   In what year India Early Minshall acquired this Egg is not known. In the 1930's there were five major American Faberg? collectors, of which India Early Minshall was one. She acquired this Lapis Lazuli Egg and the 1915 Tsar Imperial Red Cross Triptych Egg.

[Bart]

1889 Necessaire Egg

Presented by Alexander III to Czarina Maria Fyodorovna

   This Easter Egg was made in the form of a toilet-case. It contains a small 13-piece manicure set. It is one of the twelve untracked Faberg?'s Imperial Easter Eggs.

   It is valued about 3 million dollars. It would be wonderful to find at least some news about this curious "egg" made by Faberg?.

[Bart]

1885-1890 ? Resurrection Egg



gold, enamel, diamonds, rock cristal, pearl

height 3"7/8

   Made between 1885 and 1890, this egg is one of Faberge's masterpieces, exquisitely made in the manner of the Italian Renaissance. The clear rock crystal egg rests on a fluted quatrefoil base that is colorfully enamelled in translucent green, red, and blue arabesques between bands of opaque white enamel dotted with red enamel. The egg itself is banded with gold and diamonds. The resurrection group featured inside is Christ rising from the tomb, flanked by two angels. The three gold figures in the group are enamelled en ronde bosse - white drapery and lilac-coloured wings, in opaque colors quite naturistically. The grass and the ground on which the group is arranged are enamelled pale green and brown with yellow flecks, and the base is surrounded by a narrow belt of rose diamonds.



   The door is enameled to simulate marble with a coral-colored handle. The whole Resurrection scene is contained within a carved rock crystal egg, the two hemispheres held together by a line of rose diamonds. A large pearl serves as the shaft for this egg.

   The base features four pearls and panels of rose diamonds and eight brilliant-cut diamonds and supports a large pearl which is connected to the crystal egg with gold mounts.

   This was only the third egg of the Imperial egg series. It had no surprise within. It is also the only Imperial Faberge egg with a direct reference to the Easter holiday it was created to observe.