“ Laurel tree ” (or “ Orange tree ”) is a jewelry egg , one of the fifty-two imperial Easter eggs made by Karl Faberge for the Russian imperial family. The egg was created in 1911 by order of Nicholas II , who gave it to his mother Maria Fedorovna as a traditional Easter gift in 1911 [1] . Received from the Narcomfin Monetary Fund in 1927.
| "Easter Egg Laurel Tree" | |
|---|---|
| Faberge eggs | |
 Easter egg with a surprise clockwork bird | |
| Year of manufacture | 1911 |
| Customer | Nicholas II |
| First owner | Maria Fedorovna |
| Current owner | |
| Owner |  Victor Vekselberg Foundation “Connection of Times”, St. Petersburg [1] |
| Year of receipt | 2004 |
| Design and materials | |
| Master | unknown |
| Materials | gold , green and white enamel , jade , diamonds , rubies , amethysts , pearls and white onyx . |
| Height | 273 mm, open - 300 mm |
| Surprise | |
| mechanical bird | |
Currently, the jewelry egg is on permanent display at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg , located in the Naryshkin-Shuvalov Palace [1] [2] .
Content
Description
The imperial jewelry Easter egg is made of gold , coated with green and white enamel and decorated with jades , diamonds , rubies , amethysts , pearls and white onyx . Made for Maria Fedorovna as a gift for Easter 1911. Jewelry A laurel (orange) tree is a jade tree with a branched tangled branch structure, decorated with precious stones in the form of fruits and flowers enameled with white enamel with established diamonds [2] [3] .
Surprise
A surprise of the imperial jewelry Easter egg “Laurel Tree” is a mechanical winged songbird that can turn its head, open its beak, sing and flap its wings. The movement is provided by a clockwork mechanism. A bird appears from under the upper openwork cover of the product - a keyhole and a tiny lever are hidden among the branches and leaves, when pressed, a hinged round top of the tree opens and a surprise appears [2] [3] .
Owners
Emperor Nicholas II presented the Easter egg “Laurel tree” to his mother Maria Fedorovna for Easter 1911. After the October Revolution , along with other treasures of the imperial family, it was confiscated by the Bolsheviks . In 1927, Faberge Imperial Jewelry Easter Egg “Laurel Tree” became one of nine eggs sold to the All-Union Antiques Association to Emanuel Snowman, London . Then in 1965, the jewelry, having changed five different owners, was sold by Mrs. Mildred Kaplan to Malky Forbes. In 2004, the billionaire Viktor Vekselberg [1] [2] [3] acquired the egg along with other Faberge collection items at the Sotheby's auction in New York. Exhibited at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Collection of Faberge Eggs: Laurel Tree, 1911 . Faberge eggs collection . equal.lv. Date of treatment May 10, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Mieks: Bay-Tree-Egg, 1911 (inaccessible link) . Mieks Faberge Eggs . mieks.com. Date of treatment May 10, 2014. Archived March 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Faberge Eggs: Orange Tree, 1911 . Faberge eggs . faberge-eggs.info. Date of treatment May 10, 2014.