The Nécessaire Egg is a Tsar Imperial Fabergé egg

Fabergé egg

A Fabergé egg is any one of the thousands of jeweled eggs made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 to 1917. Most were miniature eggs that were popular gifts at Eastertide...

, one of a series of fifty-two jeweled

Jewellery

Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...

 eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

 made under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé

Peter Carl Fabergé

Peter Karl Fabergé also known as Karl Gustavovich Fabergé in Russia was a Russian jeweller of Baltic German-Danish and French origin, best known for the famous Fabergé eggs, made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials.-Early...

 for the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Imperial family

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. It was crafted and delivered to the then Tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 of Russia, Alexander III

Alexander III of Russia

Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...

 who presented it to his wife, Maria Feodorovna on Easter day 1889. The egg is one of the lost Imperial eggs.

Design of egg

This egg was designed as an etui containing woman's toilet items. While the exact appearance of the egg is not known, it is described in the 1917 inventory of confiscated imperial treasure as being decorated with "multi-colored stones and brilliants

Diamond (gemstone)

A diamond is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones...

, rubies

Ruby

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...

, emerald

Emerald

Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...

s and sapphire

Sapphire

Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...

s."

Surprise in egg

The surprise is likely the set of 13 diamond-encrusted woman's manicure set, though this is not certain. Since there are no known pictures of the egg or any of the items within it, a few brief descriptions are all that is available to determine the design of the egg and the nature of the surprise.

History of egg

On April 9, 1889 Alexander III

Alexander III of Russia

Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...

 presented the egg to his wife, Maria Feodorovna. It was housed at the Gatchina Palace

Gatchina Palace

The Great Gatchina Palace was built in 1766–1781 in Gatchina town by Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov who was a favourite of Ekaterina II. The Gatchina Palace is located on the hill above Lake Serebryannoe. It combines themes of a medieval castle and a country residence....

 and was taken on at least one trip to Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 as demonstrated by an invoice for the trip which describes the egg.
After the 1917 revolution the Nécessaire Egg was seized along with the rest of the imperial eggs and sent it to the Armory Palace of the Kremlin

Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...

. During the early part of 1922 the egg was transferred to the Sovnarkom, after which the whereabouts of the egg are not known.

Pearl Egg

The Pearl Egg is often included in the descriptions of the Nécessaire Egg due to the confusion within the incomplete archive records. For some time the Resurrection Egg was believed to be the Pearl Egg due to conclusions drawn by Marina Lopato in her January 1984 article in Apollo.
However, a closer examination demonstrates that the two eggs can not be the same since the Resurrection Egg does not open, and there is no place for the pearl ring described by Fabergé's invoice. The Pearl Egg was presented to Alexander III on March 16, 1889 but there is no indication it was presented as an Easter present to his wife. It is possible that due to some problem with the Pearl Egg, the Nécessaire Egg was made as the Easter gift for 1889. This is supported by the fact that both the Nécessaire Egg and the Pearl Egg cost significantly less than eggs made both before and after 1889.