Empire Nephrite Egg
Nephrite, gold, steel, pearls, and diamonds; overall h. 21.5; egg h. 9.5, d. 6.3 cm
attributed to House of Fabergé, and Mikhail Perkhin, 1902
Private collection
Photograph by David Katz, 2017

Erroneously named the Alexander III Medallion Egg, as it was believed that this egg contained a portrait medallion of that Emperor, the Empire Nephrite egg was given to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna by her son, Nicholas II in 1902. After the overthrow of the imperial family, it was considered lost. The egg was rediscovered in the 1990s, although some have expressed uncertainty regarding its authenticity. A historical document with a description potentially matching the Empire Nephrite Egg was also found in 2015. It confirmed that the portrait was of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and Duke Peter of Oldenburg, and not of Alexander III. The egg itself is vertically divided in two halves, and two quadrants. It is made from Siberian nephrite, and is, along with the rest of the piece, decorated in the Empire style, featuring various gold decorations and motifs, such as laurel wreaths, flowers, torches, festoons, scrolls, and figures of Nike. The ciphers of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Duke Peter of Oldenburg, and Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna are also featured on the piece, as is the year 1902. A gold crown with two diamonds sits atop the suspended egg, which is flanked on either side by nephrite columns, all resting on a nephrite plinth decorated with gold bas-relief, featuring a gold swan motif. A knob at the bottom of the egg is pressed to open the two front quadrants, which conceal a miniature portrait in a white guilloché frame with gold foliage and a Nike figure. The original miniature is lost, and is replaced with a modern reconstruction. Other parts of the piece have also been reconstructed, including the monograms for Olga and Peter, and the gold crown.