The Pansy egg or Spinach Jade egg is one of the Imperial Russian
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 ...
s, and it was commissioned in 1899 by
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 ...
as an Easter gift for his mother,
Dowager Empress Maria Feodoronova. Its design was overseen by the jeweler
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 ...
. This egg is one of only three made 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 others are the
Lilies of the Valley egg of 1898 and the
Clover Leaf egg of 1902.
Description
The egg is made of
nephrite
Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite or actinolite ( aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is Ca2( Mg, Fe)5 Si8 O22(O H)2. It is on ...
and has a stand made of gilt silver in the form of branches twisting up about the bottom of the egg (the egg points downward). Around the sides are five pansies with enamelled leaves and petals. The top of the egg – a nephrite dome – lifts off to reveal the egg's surprise.
Surprise
Regarding the "surprise":
Within is a gold easel surmounted by a diamond-set Star of Bethlehem inside a
wreath over the year; the easel is fluted and embellished with carved gold floral and
torch motifs and is set with gems and pearls. On it rests a heart-shaped plaque enamelled
opalescent white on a sun-ray ''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 ...
'' background and bordered by rose diamonds set
in silver and surmounted by the Romanov crown also in diamonds. Eleven tiny translucent strawberry enamelled gold covers, each bearing its own monogram, are connected by a large diamond ‘M’ to form a decoration for the front of this plaque.
When a button is pressed, the covers open simultaneously revealing
miniatures of the Imperial Family. Reading vertically, those in the first
column are:
*
Grand Duke George, the Tsar's younger brother and at this time
heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
to the Imperial throne
*
Grand Duke Alexander, the Tsar's brother-in-law via his sister,
Grand Duchess Xenia
In the second column are
* the Tsar himself
*
Grand Duchess Irina, subsequently Princess Youssoupoff, the Tsar's only niece, daughter of Grand Duke Alexander and Grand Duchess Xenia
In the third column are:
*
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, the first child of the Tsar and Tsarina
*
Grand Duchess Tatiana, their second child
*
Grand Duke Michael, youngest brother of the Tsar
In the fourth column are
* The Tsarina,
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
*
Grand Duke Andrew, the Tsar's nephew, brother of Grand Duchess Irina
In the fifth column are:
*
Grand Duchesses Olga Alexandrovna, sister of the Tsar
* Grand Duchess Xenia, the other sister of the Tsar.
Not shown are the Tsar's three other as-yet-unborn children.
Owners
This egg is among the 10 Fabergé eggs sold by the Russian
Antikvariat Antikvariat () was a Russian department of the Ministry of Trade set up by Lenin in 1921 following the Russian Revolution to handle the sale and export of art pieces acquired by the revolutionary government from Russian museums such as the Hermitag ...
in 1930, and it was purchased by the
Hammer Galleries
Victor J. Hammer (November 1, 1901 – July 21, 1985) was an American businessman, the founder and owner of Hammer Galleries in New York City, and a philanthropist.
Early life and education
Hammer was born in New York City, to Ukrainian-born ...
of New York. The gallery's owner,
Armand Hammer
Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American businessman and philanthropist. The son of a Russian Empire-born communist activist, Hammer trained as a physician before beginning his career in trade with the newly estab ...
, then sold it to the New Orleans oil heiress
Matilda Geddings Gray
Matilda Geddings Gray (March 18, 1885 – February 26, 1971) was an American heiress, businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist.
Life
She was one of three children born to wealthy oilman John Geddings Gray of Lake Charles. Her siblings w ...
in 1947. She in turn gave it to her niece, Matilda Gray Stream (Mrs. Harold H. Stream, Jr.), as a wedding anniversary present. It is one of the very few Fabergé Imperial Easter eggs to remain in a private collection.
References
Further reading
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External links
Website by Annemiek Wintraecken, details on each of the Fabergé Eggs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pansy (Faberge egg)
Imperial Fabergé eggs
1899 works