1906 The Moscow Kremlin Egg
Alexandra Feodorovna
Purchase price 11,800 rubles.
The Moscow Kremlin was chosen as the subject of this Easter egg in commemoration of the Imperial couple’s return to Moscow for the Easter celebrations of 1903. Faberge workmasters strove to create an image of the ancient Kremlin that was at once majestic and imbued with fairy-tale festiveness. The architectural Egg is thus a fantastical variation on the theme of the Kremlin walls, towers and churches. Its exterior of translucent white enamel, topped with a golden cupola, recalls that of the Dormition Cathedral. Peering through one of the glass windows one can observe the festively lit interior of the cathedral: the superb altar-screen, the Tsar’s Pew, and the massive front pillars covered in frescoes. The base of red gold is comprised of four towers — or rather the Spasskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers in duplicate — connected by walls. The Spasskaya tower is decorated with the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire and that of Moscow, as well as miniature enameled icons of “Our Lady of Kazan” and “Christ the Almighty” in the niches over the gates.
The Egg-Cathedral is lofted high above its base, its gleaming golden cupola soaring over the enameled roofs of the towers. Three tiers are clearly defined, connected by staircases with numerous steps climbing up to the church. This virtuosic piece of jeweler’s art, with its gold cupola of the Dormition Cathedral, was seen as a symbol of autocracy, as well as an embodiment of the idea of ascension toward God and the spiritual perfection of man. The Egg contains a musical mechanism that, when wound with a golden key, plays the magical “Cherubic Melodies” — part of the Easter Service — that had once so charmed the Tsar.
In the collection of the Kremlin Armory Museum, Moscow, RF