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 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 1916, for

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

, 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 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Order of St. George egg commemorates the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

that was awarded to Emperor

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

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

. 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 Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in May 1916, thus avoiding the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. The

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

forced her to travel to the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

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 Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (; – 20 April 1960) was the elder daughter and fourth child of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Dagmar of Denmark. She was the sister of the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II. She married her ...

and after her death in 1960 was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

for the equivalent of $30,910 to the Fabergé Company. In 2004 it was sold as part of 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, as part of the collection, for almost $100 million. The egg is now housed in the Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

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

Surprise

History

See also

References

Sources

External links