Faberge Imperial Lily Valley Egg & Triple Frame Decorative Accessories at BSL Home of Beverly Hills

Description:

The Lilies of the Valley Egg was given by Nicholas II to his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Fedorovna, for Easter 1898. It was a reminder of the glorious gardens at the Winter Palace where Nicholas' mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, had turned the grounds into a world filled with flowers. The children of Nicholas and Alexandra loved to gather flowers in those gardens and both the Empress Maria and the Tsarina Alexandra were often the recipients of huge bouquets that the children had gathered for them. Lilies of the Valley were plentiful in the gardens, hence this Egg. It is to be noted that Peter Carl Fabergé also was a lover of flowers and that probably explains the gemstone flowers he made that were collected by the Queen of England.
The Egg is a translucent pink enamel guilloché. It is divided into six panels by streamers of diamonds originating at the apex of the Egg and drifting down onto the green gold cabriole legs. Each curled foot bears a single large pearl. Stemming from the base of the Egg each panel is overlaid with dimensional stalks of Lilies of the Valley; the leaves realistically shaped of green enamel guilloché, the stems of green gold bearing life sized pearl blossoms, and each blossom edged in diamonds. It is so lavish that seen in person, it fairly takes one's breath away. It is appropriate here to remark that in today's world one does not see lavishness on such a scale. It was peculiar to the period of time in which the Eggs were created, and experienced only by the very few in the world who enjoyed enormous wealth.