LONDON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Buckingham Palace has placed on display a collection of works by the Russian jeweler Carl Faberge accumulated by three generations of the House of Windsor.
Through March 7, the Queen's Gallery will exhibit several imperial Easter eggs and other objects associated with the British royal family's cousins, the Romanovs.
The centerpiece of the new exhibit is the Colonnade Egg, a clock in the form of an egg made in 1910 as a gift from Czar Nicholas II to his wife, Czarina Alexandra. It is fashioned of gold, platinum, and rose-and-lime enamel set with diamonds and is in the form of a temple of love to symbolize the imperial couple's relationship.
The show traces the British royal family's interest in Faberge objects starting with King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, whose patronage resulted in the Faberge firm opening a London branch in 1903. King George V and his wife, Queen Mary, also were avid Faberge collectors, acquiring four imperial Easter eggs, and the late Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother, also added to the collection.
