From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Swan (Fabergé egg)

1906 Imperial Fabergé egg

Field	Value
name	Swan
image	Swan egg - replica.jpg
caption	Modern replica of the Swan Egg
year_delivered	1906
made_for	Nicholas II
recipient	Maria Feodorovna
owner	Fondation Edouard et Maurice Sandoz, Switzerland
acquisition_year	1954
materials	Gold, matt opaque mauve enamel, rose-cut diamonds, portrait diamond
height	100 mm
surprise_in_egg	Miniature swan on a "lake" of aquamarine

The Swan egg is a Fabergé egg, one in a series of fifty-two jewelled eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé. Commissioned in 1906 by Tsar Nicholas II, the egg was presented to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna on Easter that year for her 40th wedding anniversary.

Design

The egg is made of mauve enamel, with gold trim. On the exterior is a twisted ribbon trellis design of rose-cut diamonds, as well as a portrait diamond on the top inscribed "1906". Another portrait diamond on the other end once held the Imperial monograph. The "surprise" that came inside the egg is a miniature gold and silver swan on a "lake" of aquamarine. By winding a gear beneath one of the wings, the swan's mechanical neck and wings move. In Russia, the swan is considered a symbol of family life and the permanence of the bond of marriage.

The miniature swan is modeled after James Cox’s Silver Swan, an automaton dating from the 18th Century, now housed in the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, England. Fabergé probably saw the automaton when it was in display in Paris at the International Exposition of 1867 (World's fair).

Ownership

Purchased by King Farouk of Egypt in 1949, the egg was later sold off by the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council in 1954 at the Palace Collections Sale. This sale saw the dispersion of hundreds of Fabergé objects collected by the Egyptian Royal family. The egg was purchased by Wartski’s of London and later sold to the Fondation Edouard et Maurice Sandoz in Lausanne, Switzerland.

References

Sources

References

(2017-01-18). "Mieks Fabergé Eggs". Wintraecken.nl.
Lowes, Will. (2001). "Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia". Scarecrow Press.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1906-works imperial-fabergé-eggs

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Swan (Fabergé egg) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report