The Memory of Azov (or the Azova Egg) is a jewelled Easter egg made under the supervision of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

jeweller

Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...

in 1891 for

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Alexander III of Russia. It was presented by Alexander III as an Easter gift to his wife, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. It is currently held in the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin ArmouryOfficially called the "Armoury Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armoury Palace", the "Moscow Armoury", the "Armoury Museum", and the "Moscow Armoury Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. () is one of ...

Museum in Moscow.

Design

Carved from a solid piece of heliotrope

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, also known as bloodstone, the Memory of Azov Egg is decorated in the

Louis XV style The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV sty ...

with a superimposed gold pattern of

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

scrolls with brilliant

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

and chased gold flowers. The broad flute gold bezel is set with a drop

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

and two

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s that complete the clasp. The egg's interior is lined with green

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

. The design of the piece is based on the egg-shaped ''bonbonnières'' in the Rococo style.

Surprise

The surprise contained within is a miniature replica of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

'' Pamiat Azova'' (Memory of Azov), executed in red and yellow

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

with small diamonds for windows, set on a piece of aquamarine representing the water. The name "Azov" appears on the ship's stern. The plate has a golden frame with a loop, enabling the model to be removed from the egg.

History

The egg commemorates the voyage made by

Tsarevitch Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with the much more general term tsarevich, the title for any ...

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and Grand Duke George of Russia aboard the ''Pamiat Azova'' to the Far East in 1890. The trip was made after a suggestion by their parents to broaden the outlook of the future Tsar and his brother. At the time, Grand Duke George was suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and the voyage only exacerbated it. Tsarevitch Nicholas was also the victim of an attempted assassination ("

Ōtsu incident The was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (later Emperor Nicholas II of Russia) on , during his visit to Japan as part of his eastern journey. Background Tsarevich Nicholas had travelled by se ...

") whilst in Japan and sustained a serious head wound. Although the Tsarina was presented with the egg before these events occurred, it apparently was never one of her favourite eggs.

References

External links

Description at wintraecken.nl
{{coord, 55, 44, 58.25, N, 37, 36, 47.90, E, region:RU_scale:1000_type:landmark, display=intitle Imperial Fabergé eggs 1891 works Fabergé in the Moscow Kremlin Museums

Design

Surprise

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links