For members of the Fabergé Collectors Society Fabergé has made a miniature of the Imperial Peter the Great Egg, a celebration of the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. It is a very Limited Edition and we have been fortunate enough to procure one piece only, number 16 in the edition. It is almost an exact replica of the full sized Imperial Egg of the same name but this egg is only 3.5 inches high when in it’s stand. (The Egg itself is only 2.25 inches from base to apex.)

The Egg is done in heavily embellished almost sculptured style with sheaves of bulrushes representing the bogs upon which St. Petersburg was built and with roses and laurel leaves, symbols of triumph and pride in Russia. There are four porcelain plaques, one on each side of the Egg, two bearing portraits of Peter and Tsar Nicholas II and two bearing their favorite residences, for Peter, the hut he built with his own hands and for Nicholas, the Winter Palace, his favorite residence. Inside the surprise is a tiny replica of the statue of Peter the Great that stands on the shore of the Neva River in St. Petersburg.

NOTE: The statue was commissioned by Catherine the Great and was unveiled in 1782. Catherine was the wife of Peter and there is an interesting sidelight to their story. They lived together for nine years prior to being married because the Russian church would not permit the marriage. When finally they did permit the marriage she became the Empress and after his death she ruled as an enlightened despot. She was extremely cultured for the period and it was she who brought art and culture to Russia. She founded the Hermitage museum to house the great art she had collected.

Retail: $350.00. Our price: $314.90.