1897 The Coronation Egg
Alexandra Feodorovna
Purchase price: 5,500 rubles.
Perhaps the most recognizable of the Imperial Easter Eggs produced by Faberge is the “Coronation Egg.” Simple and elegant, it has truly come to symbolize the bygone era of autocracy in Russia. The Egg is enameled in yellow and applied with bands of green gold in a crisscross trellis pattern. An eagle of black enamel set with a single rose-cut diamond is mounted at each intersection. A band of smooth gold runs along the bottom of the Egg. A slender band of gold encloses the upper portion of the Egg, set about with ten brilliant diamonds. At the center of the smaller gold band is a round table diamond, covering the initials AΘ, the A laid out in rose-cut diamonds, the Θ in rubies. A crown of rose-cut diamonds and a single ruby surmounts the initials. A chased rosette of green gold at the bottom of the Egg encloses a circle of rose-cut diamonds, inside it a table diamond covering the year 1897. Inside the Egg is a compartment, lined with white velvet, containing a replica of a royal carriage. The Egg has a stand made of gilt silver wire.
The replica of the coach is small, made of gold and enameled in red. The doors of the coach are applied with the shape of an eagle set out in rose-cut diamonds. An imperial crown at the top of the coach is likewise set with rose-cut diamonds, which continue throughout the décor. A yellow egg-shaped diamond is suspended inside the coach. The coach is mounted on a rectangular pedestal carved from jadeite with a border of gilt silver. The coach is kept in a glass case, also rectangular, bordered with a fringe of gilt silver. Four Imperial crowns of gilt silver are mounted at the corners of the case.
In the collection of the Faberge Museum, St. Petersburg