Made in St. Petersburg.
Workmaster: Michael Perkhin
Marks: Faberge, M.P, Y.L. (initials of inspector Yakov Lyapunov of St.Petersburg Standard Board), 56, kokoshnik.
Materials: gold, platinum, tinted gold, silver, rosettes, rubies, onyx, crystal.
Dimensions: height 101/4" (26 cm), length of train 153/4" (39.8 cm).
Techniques: Translucent enamel over a guilloche ground, casting, engraving, filigree.
Kept in the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, inv.no.MP-646/1-3
Description:
The silver egg with a hinged lid decorated with colored enamel and mounted on an onyx base. A map of Russia is engraved with the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway on the central silver section, which also bears the inscription "The route of the Grand Siberian Railway in the year 1900." The lid of the egg is hinged, has an overlay of green enamel, and is decorated with inlaid leaves of acanthus. A three-sided heraldic eagle in silver and gold plate rises from the lid, bearing a crown. The egg is supported by three griffins cast in gold-plated silver, each brandishing a sword and shield. The stepped base is of white onyx in the form of a triangle with concave sides and rounded corners. A gold-plated silver braid is inlaid into the base. A working model of the train was inserted into the egg section by section. It consists of a platinum locomotive with a ruby lantern and rosette headlights and of five gold coaches with windows of rock crystal. The coaches are marked "mail", "for ladies only", "smoking", and "non-smoking". The last coach is designated "chapel". The train was wound up with a golden key.
Provenance:
Presented by emperor Nicholas II to his wife, empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Easter 1900.