The Order of St. George Egg, also called the Cross of St. George Egg, is an
enameled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller
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 ...
in 1916,
for
Nicholas II of Russia, who presented the
Fabergé egg to his mother, the Dowager Empress
Maria Feodorovna.
[
This was the last egg that the Dowager Empress received, as the Karelian Birch egg that was intended for her never reached her.]
Surprise
The two surprises are hidden behind two medallions. Behind the badge of the Order of St. George, a miniature portrait of the tsar is revealed when a small button below the badge is depressed. At the opposite side of the egg, a miniature portrait of the tsarevich Alexei is revealed from behind a silver St. George medal depicting Nicholas II, when a button is also depressed.
History
Made during World War I, the Order of St. George egg commemorates the Order of St. George that was awarded to Emperor Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
and his son, the Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaievich.[ The Order of St. George egg, and its counterpart the Steel Military egg were given a modest design, in keeping with the austerity of World War I.][
Fabergé billed 13,347 rubles for the two eggs.][
The Dowager Empress took the Order of St. George egg with her when she traveled to ]Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
in May 1916, thus avoiding the October Revolution. The Russian Provisional Government forced her to travel to the Crimea from where she fled in 1919 on board HMS ''Marlborough''. Maria Feodorovna died in Denmark in 1928, and her jewels were valued at £100,000 by the jeweler R. G. Hennel & Sons.
Several of the jewels were acquired by Queen Mary, and the sale raised £136,624. The Order of St. George egg was inherited by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia and after her death in 1960 was sold at Sotheby's for the equivalent of $30,910 to the Fabergé Company.[
In 2004 it was sold as part of Forbes Collection to Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs, as part of the collection, for almost $100 million. The egg is now housed in the Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.]
See also
*Egg decorating
Egg decorating is the art or craft of decorating eggs. It has been a popular art form throughout history because of the attractive, smooth, oval shape of the egg, and the ancient associations with eggs as a religious and cultural symbol. Egg dec ...
References
Sources
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External links
A detailed article on the 'Order of St. George' egg
from treasuresofimperialrussia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Order of St. George (Faberge egg)
Imperial Fabergé eggs
1916 works
Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia