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The silver egg with a hinged lid decorated with colored enamel and mounted on an onyxbase. A map of Russia is engraved with the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway on thecentral silver section, The egg is supported by three griffins cast in gold-plated silver,each brandishing a sword and shield. The stepped base is of white onyx in the form of a

triangle with concave sides and rounded corners. A gold-plated silver braid is inlaid intothe base. A working model of the train was inserted into the egg section by section. Itconsists of a platinum locomotive with a ruby lantern and rosette headlights and of fivegold coaches with windows of rock crystal. The coaches are marked "mail", "for ladiesonly", "smoking", and "non-smoking". The last coach is designated "chapel". The trainwas wound up with a golden key.

Provenance: Presented by emperor Nicholas II to his wife, empress AlexandraFeodorovna, Easter 1900.

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A Brief History The most important feast of the Russian

Orthodox church calendar is Easter. It iscelebrated with the exchanging of eggsand three kisses. The Faberge eggsbegan in 1884 with an Easter egg madefor the czar that became a gift for his

wife, Czarina Maria. The egg remindedthe empress of her homeland, and sofrom then on it was agreed that Fabergewould make an Easter egg each year forMaria. Faberge designed Easter eggsfor another eleven years until AlexanderIII died. Then Nicholas II, Alexander'sson, continued the tradition. It wasagreed that the Easter gift would alwayshave an egg shape and would hold asurprise. These projects became toppriority of the company and wereplanned and worked on far in advance--

a year or longer. The surprise wasalways kept secret.

Gifts for the Czars!!!!!!!!!!

Faberge was the jewelerfor Czar Alexander III andhis son Nicholas II (the lastczar of Russia)

http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Faberge/eggs.html

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This egg is the most popular of all theFaberge eggs. The surface is

enamelled translucent yellow appliedto a golden field of starbursts. The eggis trellised with bands of laurel wrought

from gold. Opaque, black-enamelledImperial eagles appear at each trellis

intersection. Each eagle carries asmall diamond on its chest. The

surprise in this egg is the miniaturecoronation coach. The accurate andhighly-detailed coach took 15 months

to fabricate. Red lacquer andupholstery of the original coach wasrecreated using red enamel and the

blues of the interior were alsofauthfully reproduced in enamels. The

gilt coach frame was reproduced ingold, the iron wheel rims in platinum,

and glass windows in etched rockcrystal. The coach is surmounted by

an Imperial crown with rose diamonds.

Coronation Egg

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All the elements of theRomanov story come

together mostelegantly inthe Fifteenth Anniversary

egg (1911), a family albumjust over five-inches-tall.

Exquisitely detailed paintingsdepict the most notable

events of the reign ofNicholas II and each of the

family members

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Inspiration

The designs for the Imperial eggswere inspired by historical art worksthat Faberge imitated or copied from

his travels or from the Hermitage.However, there is a poignantrepresentation of what is now Russianhistory in the design of a number ofthese eggs. There were eggs to

commemorate the coronation of CzarNicholas II, the completion of theTrans Siberian Railway, andanniversaries. There were eggsdepicting the Imperial yacht-Standart,the Uspensky Cathedral, the GatchinaPalace, and during the time of war,the Red Cross and the military.

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4819/egg07.html

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This golden egg is covered by a multitude ofpearls and is covered with pale pink enamel. The

eggs is supported by cabriole legs of mattegreen-gold leaves with rose diamond dewdrops.The gold-stemmed lilies of the valley have greenenamelled leaves and pearl flowers. The egg is

surmounted by an Imperial crown of rosediamonds and cabachon rubies. A pearl knob,

when twisted, reveals the surprise of this egg:portrait minatures of Czar Nicholas II and his twooldest daughters: Olga and Tatiana. The portraits

are raised by a geared mechanism inside theegg and causes the portraits to spread fan-like

once they have emerged from the egg. The

portraits are framed in rose diamonds andbacked with gold panels engraved with the

presentation date: April 5, 1898.

Lilies of the Valley Egg

http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/faberge_nav/main_fabfrm.html

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the fate of the eggs

There were thousands of Faberg piecesin the palaces of the Romanovs, most nowscattered across far away lands in the

many collections around the world now. Ofthe fifty Imperial eggs made, only tenremain in the Kremlin. Eight Imperial eggs

are still missing.

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But Lenin's efforts to preserve Russia's cultural heritagewere undermined when Joseph Stalin came to power.Stalin began trading the Russian Imperial legacy fordesperately needed Western currency to support his

new regime. "The treasures were rediscoveredsomewhere around 1927. For the communists, therewas the idea at the back of their minds that these thingsmight actually be sold for the good of the new Bolshevikgovernment, to finance their economic plans. So these

things were taken out of safekeeping, appraised, andoffered to the West." (Von Habsburg)

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..how much can an egg cost?

Faberg objects were very expensive.Even the least costly items, such as theminiature pendant egg hidden inside the

1895 Hen egg, cost 60 rubles, an amountequal to two years salary for the averagetradesman. But the original charge to the

Czar for each of the Imperial eggs wasvery likely well below costs.

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The Winter Egg

The Winter Egg brought"big money" in moderntimes as well. In 1949, itwas sold for a mere

$4,760; but in 1994, itwas acquiredanonymously at publicauction by an American

businessman for therecord price of $5.5million dollars.

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What to do after the test

Decorate your own Russian egg. Use theRussian Alphabet sheet to write your first andlast name.

http://www.treasuresofthecrown.com/images/CarouselEgg.jpg