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The ‘surprise’ contained within the eighth egg of Fabergé’s Imperial Easter series, long believed lost, was accidentally discovered by researchers preparing the new catalogue of the British Royal Collection. Caroline de Guitaut, Senior Curator of the British Royal Collection, announced this to the public for the first time at a scientific conference at the Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg.
“The Diamond Trellis Egg,” the eighth egg in the Imperial Series, was commissioned by Alexander III as a gift for his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, for Easter 1892. The egg’s shell was carved from translucent apple-green stone, inlaid with diamonds. Originally, the egg had a silver or gold base adorned with cherubs. It is generally believed that these symbolized the imperial couple’s three sons: Nicholas, Michael, and George. It is also known that a surprise was hidden inside the egg: a small wind-up elephant. Its description is found in Fabergé’s account books and has been translated into English. After the Revolution, the egg was confiscated, then sold abroad a few years later, becoming part of several private collections. It remained in the possession of the MacFerrin family in the United States, but the surprise figurine was lost.
The British researchers were not precisely aware of the elephant’s origin, so the restorers decided to dismantle the figurine.
“A fragment of the elephant’s turret was missing,” recounts Ms. de Guitaut. “Evidently, it had simply fallen off due to metal wear. But this gave us the opportunity to look inside the figurine. When we removed the upper part of the turret, my heart almost stopped: there was Fabergé’s hallmark! That’s how we had proof of our discovery’s authenticity.”
However, the mystery remains as to how this figurine came into the possession of the British Royal Collection. According to one account, King George V purchased it in 1935.
Original text published on the Rossiyskaya Gazeta website