The Steel Military egg /Военное стальное/ is one of a series of approximately 50 Russian jewelled Easter eggs created under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé. This particular egg was delivered to Alexandra Fyodorovna, the Russian Tsarina, on Easter Eve of 1916 on behalf of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II by Fabergé's son Eugène while Nicholas II was away at the Russian front of World War I; Carl Fabergé was himself busy delivering the other Easter egg for 1916, the Order of St. George Egg, to Nicholas's mother, the Dowager Empress Maria. It is one of only ten Imperial Fabergé eggs that were not sold following the Russian Revolution and subsequent execution of the immediate Imperial Romanov family, and is now held in the collection of the Kremlin Armoury.
It was designed by one of Carl Fabergé's relatives, Gustav Shkilter, and manufactured mostly in the Putilovskii Steel Plant which was well known for the quality of its steel.
The exterior of the egg is made of gold and steel - unlike many previous eggs, the exterior had no gemstones set in it anywhere— and was once coated in vitreous enamel, while the interior is made of silk and velvet. The egg stands on a base of jade and is supported by four steel artillery shells. The "surprise" fitting within it is a miniature painting by Vasily Zuev on an easel made of gold and steel. The easel is coated in vitreous enamel, and the frame of the painting is lined with diamonds. The painting depicts the Tsar and his teenage son, the Tsarevich Alexei, in heavy Russian overcoats poring over maps with eight senior Russian officers next to a tree and a pair of horses at the front of the Great War /At the end of 1915, Nicholas II, together with the heir, left for the troops of the Southern and Western Fronts. He inspected all the units that were in position, walked along the battle line of both armies, visited officer and soldier dugouts, observation posts of the batteries of heavy divisions, and tried food in field kitchens. Various photographs of the emperor and the crown prince - for example, in front of troops lined up in the field, during a conversation with the army command staff - were placed in many newspapers and magazines of that time. One of these photographs probably served as a model for the miniaturist Vasily Zuev, who painted a watercolor on bone picture placed on an easel in the form of the monogram of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In the upper part of the easel are fixed the insignia of the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, which Nicholas II was awarded after his trips to the fronts/.
As such Easter gifts between the Tsar and Tsarina went, the Steel Military egg is sometimes considered banal and kitsch in its austere style and comparatively bland, mostly colorless appearance, especially once the blackened surface had been polished to resemble chrome. Originally the steel of the egg was blackened all over. Not long after its delivery, however, it began to rust and the black layer deteriorated (an evaluation of the egg done by Christie's in 1927 also noted that the artillery shells showed definite rust damage). As a result, the steel was polished to halt this process, and it is now a mirror-silver color.
It was designed by one of Carl Fabergé's relatives, Gustav Shkilter, and manufactured mostly in the Putilovskii Steel Plant which was well known for the quality of its steel.
The exterior of the egg is made of gold and steel - unlike many previous eggs, the exterior had no gemstones set in it anywhere— and was once coated in vitreous enamel, while the interior is made of silk and velvet. The egg stands on a base of jade and is supported by four steel artillery shells. The "surprise" fitting within it is a miniature painting by Vasily Zuev on an easel made of gold and steel. The easel is coated in vitreous enamel, and the frame of the painting is lined with diamonds. The painting depicts the Tsar and his teenage son, the Tsarevich Alexei, in heavy Russian overcoats poring over maps with eight senior Russian officers next to a tree and a pair of horses at the front of the Great War /At the end of 1915, Nicholas II, together with the heir, left for the troops of the Southern and Western Fronts. He inspected all the units that were in position, walked along the battle line of both armies, visited officer and soldier dugouts, observation posts of the batteries of heavy divisions, and tried food in field kitchens. Various photographs of the emperor and the crown prince - for example, in front of troops lined up in the field, during a conversation with the army command staff - were placed in many newspapers and magazines of that time. One of these photographs probably served as a model for the miniaturist Vasily Zuev, who painted a watercolor on bone picture placed on an easel in the form of the monogram of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In the upper part of the easel are fixed the insignia of the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, which Nicholas II was awarded after his trips to the fronts/.
As such Easter gifts between the Tsar and Tsarina went, the Steel Military egg is sometimes considered banal and kitsch in its austere style and comparatively bland, mostly colorless appearance, especially once the blackened surface had been polished to resemble chrome. Originally the steel of the egg was blackened all over. Not long after its delivery, however, it began to rust and the black layer deteriorated (an evaluation of the egg done by Christie's in 1927 also noted that the artillery shells showed definite rust damage). As a result, the steel was polished to halt this process, and it is now a mirror-silver color.
Gold, steel, jade, white enamel, silk, and velvet
Height 101 mm.