The Surprise
The surprise was the first Faberge Automaton, an elephant. It was made of ivory, gold, rose-cut diamonds, enamel and brilliant diamonds. The elephant had special significance as an elephant appears in the coat of arms of the Danish Royal Family, Empress Maria Feodorovna's homeland. This surprise is currently missing.
Read more about this topic: Diamond Trellis Egg
Famous quotes containing the word surprise:
“Neither a work of nature nor one of art we get to know when they have been finished; we must surprise them in the process of being created so as to understand them to some degree.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“There is something very solemn in the thought of a great spirit like hers entering the spiritual world which she did not believe in. If we are right in our faith, what a blessed surprise for her!”
—Margaret Oliphant (1828–1897)