The Kelch Chanticleer egg is a
jewelled,
enameled Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
made by
Michael Perchin
Michael Evlampievich Perkhin (; 1860-1903) was a Russian jeweler. Born in Prionezhsky District, Okulovskaya in Olonets Governorate (now Republic of Karelia), he moved to St. Petersburg, he joined the House of Fabergé. With Henrik Wigström, h ...
under the supervision of the
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n jeweller
Peter Carl Fabergé
Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...
in 1904.
It was made for the
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n industrialist
Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch
Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch was a Russian nobleman who lived in St Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. He is remembered mainly as a patron of Fabergé, having commissioned the Kelch Gothic Revival silver service and seven eggs for his ...
, who presented the
Fabergé egg
A Fabergé egg () is a jewelled egg first created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 Czarist Russia Era eggs were created, of which 61 are currently known to have survived. Virtually all of the ...
to his wife,
Barbara Kelch-Bazanova.
Surprise
Upon the hour, a
diamond set cockerel
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
pops up from the top of the egg, flaps its wings four times, nods his head three times, crowing all the while during this routine. This lasts fifteen seconds, before the clock strikes the hour on a bell.
Similarities with Rothschild egg
As one of only four eggs with an ornamentation surprise and a clock, similarities have been drawn with the 1902
Rothschild egg.
History
The Kelch Chanticleer egg is, together with the 1906
Moscow Kremlin egg, one of Fabergé's largest Imperial Easter eggs.
It was long believed to be an Imperial egg and was purchased as such from
A La Vieille Russie by
Malcolm Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He repres ...
in 1966.
The first doubts were raised as to its Imperial status in 1979, when the ownership of six Fabergé eggs illustrated in a 1920 photograph was attributed to Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch. These included several eggs which had previously been considered Imperial (including the
Pine Cone egg and the Chanticleer egg) as well as three others bearing the initials BK of Barbara Kelch (the 1898
Kelch Hen egg, the 1902
Rocaille egg and the 1903
Kelch Bonbonnière egg).
In 2004, it was sold as part of the Forbes Collection to
Viktor Vekselberg
Viktor Felixovich Vekselberg (born April 14, 1957) is a Russian-Israeli businessman and oligarch. He is the founder and chairman of Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate. According to ''Forbes'', as of November 2021, his fortune is estimated at ...
. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs from the collection, for almost $100 million.
The egg is now housed in Vekselberg's
Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
See also
*
Egg decorating
Egg decorating is the art or craft of decorating egg (food), 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 sym ...
*
Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise (Italian: ''Kinder Sorpresa'' or ''Ovetto Kinder''), also known as Kinder Egg or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a milk chocolate consisting of a chocolate egg surrounding a yellow plastic capsule with a small toy inside. Manufactured by t ...
References
External links
Details about the Kelch Chanticleer egg- The Link of Times foundation
{{Fabergé egg
Kelch Fabergé eggs
1904 works
Fabergé clock eggs
Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia