Bouquet of Lilies Clock (Fabergé egg)

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Bouquet of Lilies Clock
Alexandra Fyodorovna
Current owner
Individual or institutionKremlin Armoury, Moscow
Year of acquisition1927
Design and materials
WorkmasterMichael Perkhin
Materials usedOnyx, diamonds, gold, silver, platinum
Height270 millimetres (11 in)
SurpriseRuby pendant with rose-cut diamonds (missing)

The Bouquet of Lilies Clock egg (or the Madonna Lily Clock egg) is a

Alexandra Fyodorovna. It is currently held in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow, and it is one of the few imperial Fabergé eggs that were never sold after the Russian Revolution
.

Design

The Bouquet of Lilies Clock egg is one of the larger

Roman numerals set in diamonds. The hours are indicated by a diamond clock hand shaped like the head of an arrow in a drawn bow. The hand is fixed to an immobile onyx
base. The varicolored gold base itself is decorated with rosettes and the date of its manufacture, 1899, is set in diamonds. It is designed as a vase with red-gold scrolls serving as extra supports at either side. A gold key was used to wind the mechanism.

The clock is crowned with a bouquet of

Madonna lilies, carved from onyx. The pistils of the flowers are set with three small rose diamonds, and the leaves and stems are of tinted gold. The egg uses the language of flowers which was well known at the time. The roses
were symbols of love and the lilies were a symbol of purity and innocence.

Surprise

The surprise from this egg is currently missing, but from contemporary photographs it is known to have been a ruby pendant with rose-cut diamonds.

See also

References

  • Faber, Toby (2008). Faberge's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire. Random House. .
  • .
  • Lowes, Will (2001). Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. .
  • .

External links