An early Alexander III porcelain Imperial presentation Easter egg, Imperial Porcelain Factory, Saint Petersburg, 1883-1894. Both front & back of the egg with Alexander III’s Imperial cypher rendered as the letter A in Old Slavonic interlace script in red gilding intertwined with the Roman numeral III in green gilding & surmounted by a similarly engraved & gilded Imperial crown, the upper aperture with a complex interlace surround in matt & polished gilding, the lower aperture with an engraved & gilt band & polished gilt rosette. Height 4 ½ in. (11.4 cm).

On this design, see Tamara Kudriavtseva & Harold Whitbeck, Russian Imperial Porcelain Easter Eggs. Русские императорские фарфоровые пасхальные яйцa, London, 2001, no. 5, p. 38. For two eggs of this design in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, see Pâques impériales les œufs en porcelaine de l’Ermitage de Saint-Pétersbourg. Imperial Easter: Porcelain eggs from the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg,State Hermitage Museum & Ariana Gallery, 1997, nos. 85 & 86, pp. 139-140.