Gatchina Palace (Fabergé egg)
| Gatchina Palace Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
Gatchina Palace Egg open | |
| Year delivered | 1901 |
| Customer | Nicholas II |
| Recipient | Maria Feodorovna |
| Current owner | |
| Individual or institution | Walters Art Museum |
| Year of acquisition | 1931 |
| Design and materials | |
| Workmaster | Michael Perkhin |
| Materials used | Enamel, gold, silver-gilt, diamond, rock crystal |
| Height | 127 millimetres (5.0 in) |
| Width | 89 millimetres (3.5 in) |
| Surprise | Gold replica of the palace at Gatchina |
The Gatchina Palace egg is a jewelled, enameled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé in 1901, for Nicholas II of Russia. Nicholas II presented it to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, at Easter in 1901. The egg opens to reveal a surprise miniature gold replica of the Gatchina Palace that was built for Count Grigory Orlov and was later acquired by Tsar Paul I. It is one of two Imperial Easter eggs in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.