The Nécessaire egg is an Imperial Fabergé egg, one of a series of fifty-two jeweled eggs made under the supervision of

Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Fabergé, also known as Karl Gustavovich Fabergé (russian: Карл Гу́ставович Фаберже́, ''Karl Gustavovich Faberzhe''; 30 May 1846 – 24 September 1920), was a Russian jewellery, jeweller best known for the fam ...

for the Russian Imperial family. It was crafted and delivered to the then

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

of Russia, Alexander III who presented it to his wife, Maria Feodorovna on Easter day 1889. The egg is one of the lost Imperial eggs, but is known to have survived the Russian Revolution and was sold by

Wartski Wartski is a British family firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art; particularly those by Carl Fabergé, fine jewellery and silver. Founded in North Wales in 1865, the business is located at 60 St James's Street, London, SW ...

in London in 1952.

Design of egg

This egg was designed as an

étui A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

containing woman's toilet items. While the exact appearance of the egg is not known, it is described in the 1917 inventory of confiscated imperial treasure as being decorated with "multi-colored stones and brilliants, rubies,

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

s and sapphires."

Surprise in egg

The surprise was that egg was essentially an etui, or necessaire, with 13 diamond-encrusted implements and toilet articles.

History

On 9 April 1889, Alexander III presented the egg to his wife, Maria Feodorovna. It was housed at the Gatchina Palace and was taken on at least one trip to Moscow, as demonstrated by an invoice for the trip which describes the egg. After the

1917 revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

the Nécessaire Egg was seized along with the rest of the imperial eggs and sent to the Armoury Palace of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

. During the early part of 1922 the egg was transferred to the Sovnarkom. It was last shown at Wartski Ltd., court jewelers and Fabergé specialists. It was shown at Wartski's in 1949 as part of the first dedicated exhibition of Faberge's works in Europe. It was later acquired and sold by the firm. In an article on the egg, Wartski states, "It was last recorded n our premiseson the 19th June 1952 when it was sold to a buyer named as 'A Stranger' for £1250... The purchaser's anonymity was safeguarded throughout Wartski's records and they remain unidentified." Its current whereabouts are unknown.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links