Kelch Chanticleer (Fabergé egg)
Encyclopedia
The Kelch Chanticleer egg is a jewelled
enameled
Easter egg
made by Michael Perchin
under the supervision of the Russia
n jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé
in 1904, for the Russia
n industrialist Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch
, who presented the egg to his wife, Barbara Kelch-Bazanova.
cockerel pops up from the top of the egg, flaps its wings four times, nods his head three times, crowing all the while during this routine. This lasts fifteen seconds, before the clock strikes the hour on a bell.
.
, one of Fabergé's largest Imperial Easter eggs. It was long believed to be an Imperial egg and was purchased as such from A La Vieille Russie
by Malcolm Forbes
in 1966.
The first doubts were raised as to its Imperial status in 1979, when the ownership of six Fabergé eggs illustrated in a 1920 photograph was attributed to Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch. These included several eggs which had previously been considered Imperial (including the Pine Cone egg
and the Chanticleer egg) as well as three others bearing the initials BK of Barbara Kelch (the 1898 Kelch Hen egg, the 1902 Rocaille egg and the 1903 Kelch Bonbonnière egg).
In 2004 it was sold as part of the Forbes Collection to Viktor Vekselberg
. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs from the collection, for almost $100 million.
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...
enameled
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
Easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
made by Michael Perchin
Michael Perchin
Michael Evlampievich Perchin was born in Petrozavodsk and died in St. Petersburg. He was one of the most important Fabergé workmasters next to Henrik Wigström. Perchin became the leading workmaster in the House of Fabergé in 1886 and supervised production of the eggs until his death in 1903...
under the supervision of 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 jeweller 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...
in 1904, 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 industrialist Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch
Alexander Kelch
Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch was a Russian nobleman who lived in St Petersburg at the end of the nineteenth century. He is now known mainly as a patron of Fabergé, having commissioned seven eggs for his wife Barbara....
, who presented the egg to his wife, Barbara Kelch-Bazanova.
Surprise
Upon the hour, a diamond setDiamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
cockerel pops up from the top of the egg, flaps its wings four times, nods his head three times, crowing all the while during this routine. This lasts fifteen seconds, before the clock strikes the hour on a bell.
Similarities with Rothschild egg
As one of only four eggs with an ornamentation surprise and a clock, similarities have been drawn with the 1902 Rothschild eggRothschild (Fabergé egg)
The Rothschild egg is a jewelled, enameled decorated egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1902 by the workshop of Michael Perchin, for Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, who presented the egg to Germaine Halphen upon her engagement to Béatrice's younger...
.
History
The Kelch Chanticleer egg is, together with the 1906 Moscow Kremlin eggMoscow Kremlin (Fabergé Egg)
The Moscow Kremlin Egg is a jewelled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1906 for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. It was presented by Nicolas II as an Easter gift to his wife, the Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna...
, one of Fabergé's largest Imperial Easter eggs. It was long believed to be an Imperial egg and was purchased as such from A La Vieille Russie
A La Vieille Russie
- Overview :, a New York antiques gallery specializing in antique jewelry and Russian works of art, is world-renowned for its collection of artworks by Carl Fabergé, created for members of the Romanov court and other wealthy patrons in late 19th century Russia...
by Malcolm Forbes
Malcolm Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes and today run by his son Steve Forbes.-Life and career:...
in 1966.
The first doubts were raised as to its Imperial status in 1979, when the ownership of six Fabergé eggs illustrated in a 1920 photograph was attributed to Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch. These included several eggs which had previously been considered Imperial (including the Pine Cone egg
Pine Cone (Fabergé egg)
The Pine Cone egg is a jewelled enameled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1900. The egg was made for Alexander Kelch, who presented it to his wife, Barbara Kelch-Bazanova.-Craftmanship:...
and the Chanticleer egg) as well as three others bearing the initials BK of Barbara Kelch (the 1898 Kelch Hen egg, the 1902 Rocaille egg and the 1903 Kelch Bonbonnière egg).
In 2004 it was sold as part of the Forbes Collection to Viktor Vekselberg
Viktor Vekselberg
Viktor Felixovich Vekselberg is the owner and president of Renova Group, a large Russian conglomerate.-Business empire:Victor Vekselberg was born in 1957 in Western Ukraine. He graduated from the Moscow Transportation Engineering Institute in 1979...
. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs from the collection, for almost $100 million.