Catherine the Great (Fabergé egg)

1914 Imperial Fabergé egg

Catherine the Great Fabergé egg

The egg with a matching stand made in 1940

Year delivered| 1914
Customer| Nicholas II
Recipient| Maria Feodorovna
Current owner
Individual or institution| Hillwood Museum
Year of acquisition| 1973
Design and materials
Workmaster| Henrik Wigström
Materials used| Gold, enamel, diamond
Height| 121 millimetres (4.8 in)
Surprise| Catherine the Great in sedan chair (missing)

The Catherine the Great egg, also known as Grisaille Egg and Pink Cameo Egg, is an Imperial Fabergé egg, one of a series of fifty-four jewelled enameled Easter eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé for the Russian Imperial family.

## History

[edit]

It was an Easter 1914 gift for Tsarina Maria Feodorovna from her son Tsar Nicholas II, who had a standing order of two Easter eggs every year, one for his mother and one for his wife.

The egg was made by Henrik Wigström, "Fabergé's last head workmaster". The egg in gold and diamonds on a claw-foot stand features pink enamel panels painted in cameo style with miniature allegorical scenes of the arts and sciences based on French artist François Boucher.

The Dowager Empress described the egg in a letter to her sister, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom:[1]

> He [Nicholas II] wrote me a most charming letter and presented me with a most beautiful Easter egg. Fabergé brought it to me himself. It is a true chef d'oeuvre in pink enamel and inside a porte-chaise carried by two negroes with Empress Catherine in it wearing a little crown on her head. You wind it up and then the negroes walk: it is an unbelievable beautiful and superbly fine piece of work. Fabergé is the greatest genius of our time, I also told him: Vous êtes un génie incomparable.

The egg's surprise, also described as "a mechanical sedan chair, carried by two blackamoors, with Catherine the Great seated inside" has since been lost.[2]

It forms part of the Marjorie Merriweather Post collection at Hillwood Museum in Washington, D.C.[2]

Its Easter 1914 counterpart (presented to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna) is the Mosaic Egg, now in the Royal Collection in London.

The stand in four colour gold has four legs ending in lion's feet and crossed arrows joining legs to each other. Commissioned by Post and made in 1940,[2] it was modelled after that of the 1898 Pelican egg, but replicating some of the decorative elements seen in the Catherine the Great egg, like the typically Louis XVI style interlacing pattern.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Habsburg, Geza von (1996). Fabergé: Fantasies & Treasures. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-85410-422-9.
2. ^ a b c "CATHERINE THE GREAT EASTER EGG | Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden". Hillwoodmuseum.org. 2002-08-19. Retrieved 2019-11-22.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Faber, Toby (2008). Fabergé's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6550-9.
* Fabergé, Tatiana; Proler, Lynette; Skurlov, Valentin V. (1997). The Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. London: Christie's Books. ISBN 978-0-903432-48-1.
* Hill, Gerald (2007). Fabergé and the Russian Master Goldsmiths. New York: Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-9970-0.
* Lowes, Will; McCanless, Christel Ludewig (2001). Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3946-5.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catherine the Great (Fabergé egg).

* Catherine the Great Easter Egg at Hillwood
* Website by Annemiek Wintraecken: Catherine the Great Egg

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Fabergé eggs

Imperial Easter eggs
(1885–1917)|

* First Hen
* also known as Jeweled Hen
* Hen with Sapphire Pendant
* also known as Egg with Hen in Basket
* Third Imperial
* Cherub with Chariot
* also known as Angel with Egg in Chariot
* Nécessaire
* Danish Palaces
* Memory of Azov
* Diamond Trellis
* Caucasus
* Renaissance
* Rosebud
* Blue Serpent Clock
* Twelve Monograms
* also known as Alexander III Portraits
* Rock Crystal
* also known as Revolving Miniatures
* Imperial Coronation
* Mauve
* Lilies-of-the-Valley
* Pelican
* also known as Dowager
* Bouquet of Lilies Clock
* also known as Madonna Lily Clock
* Pansy
* also known as Spinach Jade
* Trans-Siberian Railway
* Cockerel
* also known as Cuckoo Clock
* Basket of Flowers
* Gatchina Palace
* Clover Leaf
* Empire Nephrite
* Peter the Great
* Royal Danish
* also known as Danish Jubilee
* Moscow Kremlin
* also known as Uspenski Cathedral
* Swan
* Rose Trellis
* Cradle with Garlands
* also known as Love Trophies
* Alexander Palace
* Peacock
* Standart Yacht
* Alexander III Commemorative
* Colonnade
* Alexander III Equestrian
* Fifteenth Anniversary
* Bay Tree
* also known as Orange Tree
* Tsarevich
* Napoleonic
* Romanov Tercentenary
* Winter
* Mosaic
* Catherine the Great
* also known as Grisaille or Pink Cameo
* Red Cross with Triptych
* Red Cross with Imperial Portraits
* Steel Military
* Order of St. George
* Karelian Birch
* Constellation

Kelch eggs
(1898–1904)|

* Hen
* Twelve Panel
* Pine Cone
* Apple Blossom
* also known as Jade Chest
* Rocaille
* Bonbonnière
* Chanticleer

Other Fabergé eggs|

* Blue Striped Enamel [ru]
* Clock [hy]
* Duchess of Marlborough
* also known as Pink Serpent
* Gorbachev Peace
* Lapis Lazuli
* Nobel's Ice Egg
* Resurrection
* Rose Quartz
* Rothschild
* Scandinavian
* also known as Quisling
* Spring Flowers
* Twilight [ru]
* Youssoupov [ru]

Fabergé workmasters|

* August Wilhelm Holmström
* Michael Perkhin
* Alma Pihl
* Henrik Wigström
* Victor Mayer

Related|

* Peter Carl Fabergé
* House of Fabergé
* Fabergé Museum (Baden-Baden)
* Fabergé Museum (Saint Petersburg)

38°56′37″N 77°03′09″W﻿ / ﻿38.9437°N 77.0526°W﻿ / 38.9437; -77.0526
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