The Tsarevich egg, also known as the Czarevich egg, is a

Fabergé egg A Fabergé egg (russian: link=no, яйцо Фаберже́, translit=yaytso Faberzhe) is a jewelled egg created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 were created, of which 57 survive today. Virtua ...

, one of a series of jewelled

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

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 jeweller best known for the famous Faberg� ...

. It was created in 1912 for Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna as a tribute by Fabergé to her son the

Tsarevich Alexei Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia (28 February 1690 – 26 June 1718) was a Russian Tsarevich. He was born in Moscow, the son of Tsar Peter I and his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina. Alexei despised his father and repeatedly thwarted Peter's p ...

(Alexei). The egg is currently in the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the s ...

in Richmond, Virginia, US.

Design

The egg is about tall on its stand, with a diameter of . The outer shell is blue lapis lazuli, with architectural, Louis XV-style

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

cagework in a design of leafy scrolls. The gold motifs cover each joint, making the egg look as if it was carved from a single block of lapis. The goldwork includes two Imperial double-headed eagles, as well as cupids, canopies, floral scrolls, flower baskets and garlands. Most of the decorative elements are based on designs by Jean Bérain. Two large diamonds, one at top and one at bottom, are encrusted into the egg's surface, showing the initials of Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna, the year 1912 and the Imperial crown. The location of the original stand is unknown, however it is thought to have not made it out of Russia when purchased by antiques dealer

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American business manager and owner, most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran from 1957 until his death. Called "Lenin's chosen capitalist" by the press, ...

Surprise

The "surprise" inside is a Russian double-headed Imperial eagle with a

miniature portrait A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...

of the Tsarevich Alexei, set in

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

and encrusted with

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

s. The Imperial eagle holds the orb and sceptre representative of the Romanov crown jewels. The intricate frame sits on a lapis lazuli base and can be completely removed from inside the egg. The portrait shows Alexei in his sailor suit, a favorite of the Tsarevich's. The original double-sided watercolor miniature portrait has suffered damage and is still in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The current portrait on display is an archival photograph. Inside the egg, an engraved golden disc with a rose window design serves as a platform for the portrait frame.

History

Fabergé created the egg as a tribute to Tsarevich Alexei. Unknown to all but the royal family, Alexei was expected to die of hemophilia and was at one point so close to death that the Russian Imperial Court had already drawn up his death certificate. When Alexei survived, Fabergé, who knew of the Tsarevich's health, created the egg for Alexei's mother as a tribute to the miracle of his survival. Subsequent owners included antiques dealer

, who moved from Paris to New York in the early 1930s. Philanthropist Lillian Thomas Pratt (1876–1947) of Fredericksburg, Virginia, purchased the egg in New York from Hammer in 1933–34. The egg was bequeathed by her in 1947 to the

in Richmond, Virginia, where it remains on permanent view.

Gallery

Notes

References

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External links

*
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsarevich (Faberge Egg) 1912 works Imperial Fabergé eggs Culture of Russia Fabergé in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts