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Blue Serpent Clock (Fabergé Egg)
The Blue Serpent Clock egg is an Imperial Fabergé egg, one of a series of fifty-two jeweled eggs made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé for the Russian Imperial Family. This egg features a clock and is a design that Fabergé repeated for the Duchess of Marlborough egg in 1902. Both pieces are based on the ''cercles tournants'' (revolving dial) urn clocks in the Louis XVI style with a snake to indicate the time. It is currently owned by Prince Albert II and is held in Monaco. Design The crafting of this Imperial egg is credited to Michael Perkhin of Fabergé's shop. The egg stands on a base of gold, blue and opalescent white guilloché enamel. The three panels of the base feature motifs of raised gold in four colors, representing the arts and sciences. A serpent, set with diamonds coils around the stand connecting the base to the egg and up toward its center. The serpent's head and tongue point to the hour which is indicated in Roman numerals on a white band t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas II Of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign, Nicholas gave support to the economic and political reforms promoted by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin. He advocated modernization based on foreign loans and close ties with France, but resisted giving the new parliament (the Duma) major roles. Ultimately, progress was undermined by Nicholas's commitment to autocratic rule, strong aristocratic opposition and defeats sustained by the Russian military in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. By March 1917, public support for Nicholas had collapsed and he was forced to abdicate the throne, thereby ending the Romanov dynasty's 304-year rule of Russia (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in a pure form. Chemically, gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions. Gold often occurs in free elemental (native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium ( gold tellurides). Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), forming a soluble tetrachloroau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg Decorating
Egg decorating is the art or craft of decorating eggs. It has been a popular art form throughout history because of the attractive, smooth, oval shape of the egg, and the ancient associations with eggs as a religious and cultural symbol. Egg decorating has been associated with Easter in recent times, but was practiced independently by many ancient cultures. History Eggs are an important symbol in folklore and mythology, often representing life and rebirth, healing and protection, and sometimes featuring in creation myths. This means that traditional egg decorating existed throughout the world. Africa The oldest eggshells, decorated with engraved hatched patterns, are dated for 60,000 years ago and were found at Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South Africa.Texier PJ, Porraz G, Parkington J, Rigaud JP, Poggenpoel C, Miller C, Tribolo C, Cartwright C, Coudenneau A, Klein R, Steele T, Verna C. (2010). "A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraving ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Objet D'art
In art history, the French term Objet d’art describes an ornamental work of art, and the term Objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish that emphasises the aesthetics of the artefact. Artists create and produce ''objets d’art'' in the fields of the decorative arts and metalwork, porcelain and vitreous enamel; figurines, plaquettes, and engraved gems; ivory carvings and semi-precious hardstone carvings; tapestries, antiques, and antiquities; and books with fine bookbinding. The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, describe their accumulated artworks as a: "collection of ''objets d’art'' hichcomprises over 800 objects. These are mostly small, decorative art items that fall outside the scope of the Museum’s ceramic, plate, textiles and glass collections." The artwork collection also includes metal curtain ties, a lacquered ''papier-maché'' tray, tobacco box ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third Imperial Egg
Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (other) * Third Avenue (other) * Highway 3 Music Music theory *Interval number of three in a musical interval ** major third, a third spanning four semitones ** minor third, a third encompassing three half steps, or semitones **neutral third, wider than a minor third but narrower than a major third **augmented third, an interval of five semitones ** diminished third, produced by narrowing a minor third by a chromatic semitone *Third (chord), chord member a third above the root * Degree (music), three away from tonic **mediant, third degree of the diatonic scale ** submediant, sixth degree of the diatonic scale – three steps below the tonic **chromatic mediant, chromatic relationship by thirds *Ladder of thirds, similar to the circle of fifths Albums *'' Third/Sister Lovers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anichkov Palace
The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, stands at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka River. History 18th century The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), takes its name from the nearby Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka. Designed for the Empress Elizabeth of Russia () in a dazzling Baroque style, the palace came to be known as the most imposing private residence of the era of Elizabeth Petrovna. Some suggest architects Bartolomeo Rastrelli and Mikhail Zemtsov were responsible for the design, though that is yet to be substantiated. The main frontage faces the river and was originally connected to it by a canal. Construction works continued for thirteen years; when they finally finished in 1754 the Empress Elizabeth presented the palace to her favourite (and likely spouse), Count Aleksey Razumovsky. After his death in 1771, the palace reverted to the crown, but Catherine the Great of Russia ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphirus" from the Greek "sappheiros", which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) sapphires are also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainier III, Prince Of Monaco
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling monarchs in European history. Rainier was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the only son of Prince Pierre and Hereditary Princess Charlotte of Monaco. He was crucially responsible for the transformation of Monaco's economy, shifting from its traditional casino gambling base to its current status as a tax haven and cultural destination. The Prince also coordinated the substantial reforms of Monaco's constitution, which limited the powers of sovereign rule. Rainier married American film star Grace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children: Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie. He died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection as a result of frequent smoking; he was succeeded by h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyrou Niarchos ( el, Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both the Suez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, he and rival Aristotle Onassis became giants in global petroleum shipping. Niarchos was also a noted thoroughbred horse breeder and racer, several times the leading owner and number one on the French breed list. Early life Stavros was born in Athens to a wealthy family, son of Spyros Niarchos and his wife, Eugenie Koumantaros, a rich heiress. His great-great-grandfather, Philippos Niarchos, a Greek shipping agent in Valletta, had married a Maltese woman, a daughter from a noble family in Malta, whose younger offspring had migrated to Greece to base themselves in a merchant business from Malta. His parents were naturalized Americans who had owned a department store in Buffalo, New York, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wartski
Wartski is a British family firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art; particularly those by Carl Fabergé, fine jewellery and silver. Founded in North Wales in 1865, the business is located at 60 St James's Street, London, SW1. The company holds royal appointments as jewellers to Charles III and before her death, Elizabeth II. History The firm was founded in Bangor, North Wales in 1865 by Morris Wartski, a Polish-Jewish immigrant from the town of Turek, in central Poland. Wartski first established a jewellery business on Bangor's High Street and then a drapery store. His son, Isidore, went on to develop the drapery business and create a large, fashionable, store. He also developed the Castle Inn on High Street in Bangor, into the high-class Castle Hotel. He was a popular mayor of the city and a patron of local sports and charities. Wartski Fields were bequeathed to the city and people of Bangor by his widow, Winifred Marie, in memory of Isidore Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emanuel Snowman
Emanuel Snowman OBE MVO (25 January 1886 – 27 February 1970) was a British jeweller, local politician and Jewish community leader. He oversaw the opening of the London branch of the Llandudno jewellers Wartski, having married the daughter of its founder, Morris Wartski, and went on to become its chairman. Early life Emanuel Snowman was born in Hampstead, London, the son of Abraham Snowman (1849–1918), a picture dealer, and his wife Rachel, both of whom were born in Poland. His elder brothers were the prominent mohel and medical doctor Jacob Snowman and the painter Isaac Snowman. As a teenager he acted as secretary to Israel Zangwill. In 1898, he spent a year at the agricultural college at Mikve in Palestine where he met Theodor Herzl."Obituary: Emanuel Snowman Connoisseur of fine jewels" in ''The Times'', 4 March 1970, p. 12. Career In 1911, Snowman managed the opening of the Regent Street, London, branch of his father-in-law's business, up until then only based in Lla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moscow Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Russian citadels), and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. In addition, within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace that was formerly the Tsar's Moscow residence. The complex now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation and as a museum with almost 3 million visitors in 2017. The Kremlin overlooks the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and the Alexander Garden to the west. The name "''Kremlin''" means "fortress inside a city", and is often also used metonymically to refer to the government of the Russian Federation. It previously referred to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
