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Egg-and-Hen Egg

Workmaster: Erik August Kollin
possibly ca. 1886
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 555
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
This egg was long considered the first imperial Easter egg made by Fabergé (it is now universally agreed that it was the Hen Egg, dated 1885, formerly in the Forbes Collection). Even if not by Fabergé but perhaps by a German goldsmith, this ingenious object comprises a gold and platinum egg, a hen on a small nest, a crown, and a diamond and emerald ring. The crown holds a pendant, now lost.

[Wolfram Koeppe, 2011]

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Egg-and-Hen Egg
  • Maker: House of Carl Fabergé
  • Maker: Workmaster: Erik August Kollin (1836–1901)
  • Date: possibly ca. 1886
  • Culture: Russian
  • Medium: Platinum, gold, silver, enamel, diamond, emerald
  • Dimensions: Overall: 2 x 11/16 x 11/16 in. (5.1 x 1.7 x 1.7 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Gold and Platinum
  • Credit Line: Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation
  • Object Number: L.2011.66.52a–f
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts