PRECIOUS DECORATIVE EGG WITH HIDDEN ENGAGEMENT RING MADE OF GILT METAL; ENAMEL AND GOLD.
Wohl Wien.
Late 19th century.
Gilt metal; coloured enamel. Crown and ring 750 Gold.
Gold colored egg openable through screw thread. Hidden inside a domed; hinged lid posing
as an enameled egg yolk. Underneath a enameled hen sitting in a mount with a seal-like
insert. The hen to be opened in the middle; containing a crown. The crown then holding a
ring with an emerald and small diamonds.
Measurement: Ring und crown ca. 13g. Length of the egg 6cm/ height chicken 4cm/ height crown 1;5cm/ ?ring 2cm.
Mark: Without detectable marks; gold tested.


Provenance:
Private collection southern Germany.

Literature:
Geza von Habsburg: Faberg?- Hofjuweliere der Zaren; Munich 1986. For comparison see p.314 and following no.660; no.662 and no.663.

The decorative object presented here is very similar to a Viennese Easter egg mentioned by Geza von Habsburg; which is dated to the middle of the 19th century (p.314; no.660). These objects are inspired by earlier models from the 18th century; which she is demonstrating on two comparable examples. These are now part of the Danish queen`s collection at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen and of the collection at the Kunsthistorische Museum in Vienna.
Art trade; Van Ham.