Imperial Napoleonic Egg
Gold, enamel, diamonds, velvet, silk, satin, gouache on ivory; h. 11.7 cm, d. 8.9 cm,
by House of Fabergé, Henrik Wigström, and Vasilii Zuiev, 1912
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation)
After a photograph by Chuck Redden, 2020

 The style of this egg is French Empire, crafted from yellow gold. The exterior features six emerald green enamel panels, creating a smooth, uninterrupted surface. Four horizontal double fillets of rose-cut diamonds separate the emerald panels, which are surrounded by bands of ruby guilloché enamel embellished with gold laurel leaves and rosettes. Six panels encircle the central section, adorned with cast and chased gold appliqués of the Romanov crest and other military and allegorical symbols. The top of the egg is decorated with gold and diamonds, including a table-cut diamond bearing a crown and the Dowager Empress' cipher. The egg opens via a hidden hinge at its base to reveal a lined interior. Crimson velvet lines the lower half, while the upper portion is adorned with soft pale satin. Inside, the surprise is a miniature, a six-panelled, polygonal folding screen decorated with diamonds. Each panel features a watercolour depicting a different military regiment of the Tsarina in intricate detail, with remarkable precision in the depiction of uniforms, buttons, sashes, and insignia. The variety of colours and details is complemented by precisely rendered backgrounds. The reverse of each panel displays gold and green enamel roundels bearing the crowned cipher in Cyrillic script of the Tsarina, set in diamonds. The egg is currently on long-term loan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.