The Imperial Coronation Egg.
On May 9, 1896 Nicholas and Alexandra were crowned as the new Emperor
and Empress of all the Russias. In honor of that occasion the
House of Fabergé created this incredibly beautiful Egg
for Nicholas to gift Alexandra with on the first Easter following
the coronation. Today it is one of the most renowned of all of
the Eggs and currently the original is in the Forbes Collection.
Our Egg is an exact
copy of the original Egg excepting, of course, for the materials
used. The Egg is enameled in a lustrous yellow over a starburst
guilloché ground.
The yellow representing the gold of the coronation robes of the
royal couple. Overlaying that is a trellis work of laurel leaves
punctuated with the Romanov Double Eagle insignia at every trellis
intersection, each insignia set with a tiny crystal. At either
pole of the Egg there are large multi-faceted crystals set in bezels,
the upper pole also studded with scattered crystals. The interior
of the egg is velvet lined and nested in the velvet is the reproduction
of the Coronation Coach in which the Empress rode to the coronation.
The detail on the coach is beyond my descriptive capabilities.
All of the wheels turn and the front axel of the carriage swivels
as a real one would. The roof, the doors, the coachman's seat,
the footman¹s seat are all done in strawberry guilloché often
with a gold trellis overlay so you are looking through the trellis
at the guilloché ground. The roof has a superstructure in
addition to the trellis work on which is mounted the Coronation
Crown. All of the gold work is engraved and decorated in relief.
The interor of the coach is done in gold and is channeled to resemble
the interior upholstery of the coach. Looking at it is a most extraordinary
experience because it is impossible to take in all of the enormous
detail that has gone into the making of this piece at one time.
Each time I look at it I see something I have not seen before.
It requires repeated close examination to really see the incredibly
exquisite artistry with which this is imbued. Retail: About $1250.00. Our
price: $1125.00.
Of interest:
The workmaster for the original coach was George Stein. It took
him 15 months, working 16 hours a day to complete the coach. The
workmaster for the original egg was Mikhail Perkhin.
|
|
