Gatchina Palace Egg

Fabergé's revival of 18th-century enameling techniques, including the application of multiple layers of translucent enamel over "guilloché," or mechanically engraved gold , is demonstrated in the shell of the egg. When opened, the egg reveals a miniature replica of the Gatchina Palace, the Dowager Empress's principal residence outside St. Petersburg. So meticulously did Fabergé's workmaster, Mikhail Perkhin , execute the palace that one can discern such details as cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (1754-1801), and elements of the landscape, including parterres and trees . Continuing a practice initiated by his father, Alexander III , Tsar Nicholas II presented this egg to his mother, the dowager empress Marie Fedorovna , on Easter 1901. The egg opens to reveal as a surprise a miniature gold replica of the palace at Gatchina , located 30 miles southwest of St. Petersburg. Built for Count Grigorii Orlov, the palace was acquired by Tsar Paul I and served as the winter residence for Alexander III and Marie Fedorovna.