The Lilies of the Valley egg is a jewelled

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 ...

made 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 1898 by Fabergé ateliers. The supervising goldsmith was

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 ...

. The egg is one of the three eggs in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style (the other two are the Pansy egg and the Clover Leaf egg). It was presented on April 5 to

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

, who gave it as a gift to his wife, the

Tsarina Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; ; ; ) is the title of a female Autocracy, autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, or the title of a t ...

, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna. The egg is part of the

Victor 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 ...

Collection, owned by The Link of Times Foundation and housed in the Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Description

The egg is covered in pearls and topped with rose pink enamel on a

guilloché Guilloché (), or guilloche (), is a decorative technique in which a very precise, intricate and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material via engine turning, which uses a machine of the same name. Engine turning m ...

field. The egg is supported by

cabriole leg A cabriole leg is one of (usually) four vertical supports of a piece of furniture shaped in two curves; the upper Arc (geometry), arc is wikt:convex, convex, while lower is wiktionary:Concave, concave; the upper curve always bows outward, while t ...

s of green-gold leaves with rose-cut diamond dewdrops. The gold-stemmed lilies have green enameled leaves and flowers made of gold set with rubies, pearls, and diamonds.

Surprise

This egg's surprise is 'elevated' out of the egg by twisting a gold-mounted pearl button. When fully raised, three portraits are visible under the Imperial crown set with a ruby:

and his two oldest daughters, Grand Duchess Olga and Grand Duchess Tatiana, painted on ivory by Johannes Zehngraf. The portraits are framed in rose diamonds and backed with gold panels engraved with the presentation date of July 31, 1898.

In popular culture

The Lilies of the Valley Fabergé egg is depicted in the British drama ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

'' in Season 3.

References

Sources

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External links

Faberge - Treasures of Imperial Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilies of the Valley (Faberge egg) Imperial Fabergé eggs Art Nouveau works 1898 works Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia