1902 Duchess of Marlborough Musical Royal Russian Egg.

Enameled
Magnetic Catch
Gold Plated Pewter
Hand Painted
Plays Holiday Tune "The Nutcracker Suite" by P. Tchaikovsky

Egg History: The Duchess of Marlborough egg is a jeweled enameled Easter egg made by Michael Perchin under the supervision of Peter Carl Faberge in 1902. It is the only large Royal Russian Easter egg to have been commissioned by an American and is inspired by a Louis XVI clock with a revolving dial. It is similar to the 1887 Blue Serpent Clock egg.

The egg was made for Consuelo Vanderbilt, who became the Duchess of Marlborough when she married Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. In 1902 the Duchess and her husband traveled to Russia, where they dined with Nicholas II of Russia and visited his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna at the Anichkov Palace.

During this visit, the Duchess would have almost certainly seen the Dowager Empress' large collection of eggs, which perhaps inspired her to order one for her. In 2004 it was sold as part of Forbes Collection to Viktor Vekselberg for almost $100 million.

Dimensions:

• 7.32 Inches Tall x 3.32 Inches Wide (Egg on a stand)
• 18.59 cm Tall x 8.43 cm Wide (Egg on a stand)

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