Bonbonnière (Fabergé egg)

1903 Fabergé Kelch Egg

Bonbonnière Fabergé egg
Year delivered	1903
Customer	Alexander Kelch
Recipient	Barbara Kelch-Bazanova
Current owner
Individual or institution	Estate of the late Kerry Packer, Australia
Design and materials
Workmaster	Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin
Materials used	gold, diamonds, chalcedony, pearls, transparent white enamel, velvet
Height	127 millimetres (5.0 in)
Surprise	Pendant inside of a second egg

The Bonbonnière egg is one of the Fabergé eggs created in the workshop of Peter Carl Fabergé for the wealthy Russian industrialist Alexander Kelch who presented it to his wife as an Easter gift in 1903. Because it was not a gift from a Russian tsar to his tsarina, it is not considered an "imperial" Fabergé egg but rather, in this instance, is called one of the seven "Kelch" eggs. It is the sixth egg in this series.^[1] A bonbonnière is a candy box (lit. a bearer of bonbons) in French.

It is made of gold, diamonds, chalcedony, pearls, transparent white enamel, a velvet. The miniature box "surprise" inside the main box/ egg is made of agate and has been decorated with brilliant cut stones and a cabochon ruby. Inside this there is a pendant of gold and enamel.^[2]

References

^ Rice, Christopher; Rice, Melanie (1 May 2013). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: St. Petersburg. DK. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4654-1268-3.
^ "Bonbonniere egg Faberge 1903". Faberge-eggs.info. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2019-10-07.