Colonnade (Fabergé egg)

Colonnade Fabergé egg
Year delivered	1910
Current owner
Individual or institution	Queen Elizabeth II
Year of acquisition	1953, inherited from Mary of Teck
Design and materials
Workmaster	Henrik Wigström
Materials used	Bowenite, gold, silver-gilt, platinum, guilloché enamel, diamond
Height	28 cm.
Width	17 cm. diameter
Surprise	No surprise

The Colonnade egg is a jewelled enameled Easter egg made by Henrik Wigström under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1910. The egg was made for Nicholas II of Russia, who presented it to his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna upon the birth of their only son, the tsarevich Alexei. As a clock-egg, the Colonnade egg contained no surprise.

The Colonnade Egg is made of Bowenite, four-colour gold, silver-gilt, platinum, guilloché enamel and rose diamonds. It is one of only four Faberge Easter Eggs to include a clock in the design. The Colonnade Egg features a rotary clock made by the Swiss firm Henry Moser & Cie.

The egg symbolizes a temple of love. A pair of platinum doves represent the love of Nicholas and Alexandra. Four silver-gilt cherubs sit around the base of the egg, each representing Nicholas and Alexandra's four daughters: Anastasia, Olga, Maria, and Tatiana. Alexei is represented by a silver-gilt cupid, which surmounts the egg. The cupid is now missing a silver-gilt staff or twig which was held in his right hand and was used to indicate the hour.

Purchased for 11,600 roubles the Colonnade Egg was presented to Alexandra at Eastertide 1910 to celebrate the 1904 birth of Alexei, the fifth child and only son of Nicholas and Alexandra. After giving birth to four daughters, the birth of their first and only son was significant because it ensured a direct heir to the throne, rather than succession passing to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the younger brother of Nicholas II.

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