Easter was late that year, falling on April 23rd.
1916 - Steel Military Egg
The exterior of this egg is made from steel, coated in translucent enamel, surmounted by a gold crown. It is divided into three sections by two smooth horizontal lines. In the middle section, in inlaid gold, is an image of George the Conqueror in a diamond-shaped frame outlined in laurel leaves. This is topped by the Russian emblem, a double-headed eagle beneath three crowns. Resting on the points of four miniature artillery shells, this egg makes up in sober significance what it lacks in ornamentation.
The surprise is a miniature painting by Vassily Zuiev on an easel made of gold and steel. The easel is coated in translucent enamel. The frame of the painting is lined with diamonds.
Czar Nicolai presented the egg as an Easter gift to his wife, the Czarina Aleksandra Fyodorovna probablyon April 23, 1916.
The egg is one of the ten Imperial eggs that were never sold, and is now housed in the Kremlin Armory.
