Diamond Trellis Egg
Bowenite, gold, diamonds, satin; h. 10.2, d. 6.7
by House of Fabergé, and August Holmström, 1892
Houston Museum of Natural Science (Artie and Dorothy McFerrin Collection)
After a 2013 photograph by Randall Pugh

One of the Imperial Easter Eggs commissioned by Tsar Alexander III for his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, this egg is crafted from light green bowenite, and features a minimalist design with a focus on material and texture. A network of rose-cut diamonds, set within thin gold bands, forms a delicate latticework that covers the entire surface. Two larger diamonds are positioned at the apex and base where the latticework converges, and a hidden hinge allows the egg to open and reveal its surprise. Originally, the egg rested on a base featuring three cherubs, but this element is currently missing. The egg's surprise is a clockwork elephant. Though the egg and its surprise became separated over time, they were reunited temporarily and displayed between 2017 and 2018 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.



Elephant automaton surprise
Ivory, gold, diamonds, enamel, brass, and nickel; 60 x 5.5 x 3.4 cm
by Mikhail Perkhin, 1892
Royal Collection Trust, London
Image by Jafd88, 2019

The surprise from the Diamond Trellis Egg is a mechanical wonder of engineering and artistry. Wound with a key through a hidden hole, the jewelled elephant walks across a surface, using ratcheted wheels, while raising and lowering its head. The automaton's existence was documented in Fabergé's invoice and an inventory of Imperial Easter Eggs owned by the Tsarina, but for decades, its whereabouts remained a mystery. In a remarkable turn of events, the automaton was rediscovered in the British Royal Collection in 2007, where it had been kept unnoticed. A curator matched the elephant to is historical description, and confirmed it was the missing surprise after the Fabergé marking was located. The surprise had been purchased by King George V in 1935. The elephant was designed after the one appearing on the badge of the Danish Order of the Elephant.