Height: 5-5/16 inches, 7-7/8 inches
when open
Markings: MP (Michael Perchin), crossed anchors,
56
Date: 1898
One of only two eggs executed in the Art
Nouveau style, this golden egg is covered by a multitude
of pearls and is covered with pale pink enamel. The eggs
is supported by cabriole legs of matte green-gold leaves
with rose diamond dewdrops. The gold-stemmed lilies of the
valley have green enamelled leaves and pearl flowers. The
egg is surmounted by an Imperial crown of rose diamonds
and cabachon rubies. A pearl knob, when twisted, reveals
the surprise of this egg: portrait minatures of Czar Nicholas
II and his two oldest daughters: Olga and Tatiana. The portraits
are raised by a geared mechanism inside the egg and causes
the portraits to spread fan-like once they have emerged
from the egg. The portraits are framed in rose diamonds
and backed with gold panels engraved with the presentation
date: April 5, 1898.
