Gatchina Palace (Fabergé egg)
| Gatchina Palace Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year delivered | 1901 |
| Customer | Maria Feodorovna |
| Current owner | |
| Year of acquisition | 1931 |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Mikhail Perkhin |
| Materials used | enamel, gold, silver-gilt, diamond, rock crystal |
| Height | 5" |
| Width | 3" |
| Surprise | Gold replica of the palace at Gatchina. |
The Gatchina Palace egg is a jewelled enameled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé in 1901, for Nicholas II of Russia. Nicholas II presented it to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter 1901. The egg opens to reveal a surprise miniature gold replica of the palace at Gatchina, a village 30 miles southwest of St. Petersburg that was built for County Grigorii Orlov and was later acquired by Tsar Paul I. It is one of two imperial Easter eggs held in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Craftsmanship
The egg was created by Faberge's workmaster, Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (Russian, 1860-1903) and is crafted from gold, enamel, silver-gilt, portrait diamonds, rock crystal, and seed pearls. Detailed work around the palace in the surprise shows cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (1754-1801), and elements of the landscape. The miniature palace is fixed inside the Egg and cannot be removed, unlike the 1908 Alexander Palace egg, which Fabergé would create seven years later for Alexandra Fyodorovna. The dimensions are 4 15/16 x 3 9/16 in. (12.5 x 9.1 cm).
Surprise
The egg opens to reveal as a miniature gold replica of the palace at Gatchina, the Dowager Empress's principal winter residence outside Saint Petersburg.
Ownership
In 1920, the egg was in the possession of Alexander Polovtsov who was a former employee at the Gatchina Palace and later started an antique shop in Paris. It is not known how Mr. Polovtsov acquired the egg. In 1930, the egg was sold along with the 1907 Rose Trellis to American Henry Walters and became a part of the Walters Art Museum Collection in 1931. In 1936, the egg was exhibited along with the Rose Trellis at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland and has been on permanent display since 1952.
See also
