Made in St. Petersburg
Workmaster: Michael Perkhin
Marks: Faberge, M.P, Y.L. (initials of inspector
Yakov Lyapunov of St.Petersburg Standard Board), 56, kokoshnik.
Materials: gold, platinum, tinted gold, silver,
rosettes, rubies, onyx, crystal.
Dimensions: height 101/4" (26 cm), length
of train 153/4" (39.8 cm).
Techniques: Translucent enamel over a guilloche
ground, casting, engraving, filigree.
Kept in the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin,
inv.no.MP-646/1-3
Description: The silver egg with a hinged lid
decorated with colored enamel and mounted on an onyx base.
A map of Russia is engraved with the route of the Trans-Siberian
Railway on the central silver section, which also bears the
inscription "The route of the Grand Siberian Railway
in the year 1900." The lid of the egg is hinged, has
an overlay of green enamel, and is decorated with inlaid leaves
of acanthus. A three-sided heraldic eagle in silver and gold
plate rises from the lid, bearing a crown. The egg is supported
by three griffins cast in gold-plated silver, each brandishing
a sword and shield. The stepped base is of white onyx in the
form of a triangle with concave sides and rounded corners.
A gold-plated silver braid is inlaid into the base. A working
model of the train was inserted into the egg section by section.
It consists of a platinum locomotive with a ruby lantern and
rosette headlights and of five gold coaches with windows of
rock crystal. The coaches are marked "mail", "for
ladies only", "smoking", and "non-smoking".
The last coach is designated "chapel". The train
was wound up with a golden key.
Provenance: Presented by emperor Nicholas II
to his wife, empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Easter 1900.
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