This egg is made out of rock crystal, that sits on a silver-gilt rococo mount. One half of the egg is engraved with the crowned monogram of Maria Feodorovna, and the other half with the year 1908.
The surprise is a mechanical gold enameled peacock, that can be removed from the branches of the gold tree, that also carries flowers in enamel and precious stones.
When placed on a flat surface and wound up, the little peacock starts strutting around, moving his head and spreading and closing his varicolored enamel tail feathers.
Dorofeiev, the Fabergé workmaster who created the peacock, reportedly worked on this little automaton and it's prototypes for three whole years!
The "Peacock Egg", was inspired by the "Peacock clock", made by James Cox in the years 1779-1781. It was a gift from Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin to Catherine the Great, and was first housed in the Winter Palace. Now it can be seen at the Heremitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The "Peacock Egg" has been exhibited only six times. In 2008 it was totally restored by Michel Parmigiani of the watchmaker/restaurer firm Parmigiani Fleurier. After this the little peacock could move harmoniously again! This egg is now part of the Foundation Edouard et Maurice Sandoz, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ok, I take it all back..THIS is my egg :))) I LOVeeeeeee it :)) And I will have the peacock clock if Russia doesn't mind either ;) It's stunning!! Amazing work!! egg-cellent ;-) xoxoxo Have a great weekend my darling flower!!
ReplyDeleteThis one is probably my favourite yet Miss Meadows, maybe it's just because I think peacocks are wonderful birds or maybe it isn't but it's a serious piece of art, great post.
ReplyDeleteHiya doll, saw your comment...yes, I started out wearing things from the 40's - 50's too (thanks to my uncle re-modelling cars from that time, I became obsessed), but then someone bought me a vintage beaded bolero from the 20's/30's and I started to buy more things from that time, the pretty beadings won me over ;) But, like you my wardrobe is now bursting at the seams ;D I will have to treat myself to a new wardrobe soon!! Dancing all night long sounds wonderful to me :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely stunning
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