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 The egg is made of gold and the ornaments are engraved. This is one of the few eggs that is not enamelled over most of its surface.
Coincident with the centennial celebration of the patronage of charitable institutions by the Empresses of Russia, this gold egg is engraved with the commemorative dates "1797-1897"; and with the motifs of the Arts and Sciences. Surmounting the egg is a pelican feeding her young, an emblem of motherhood.
The figure of the pelican and its young, in diamonds and opalescent white enamel, represents also tenets of the Christian Faith, Charity and Sacrifice. The Egg is engraved with classical motifs, the commemorative dates 1797 - 1897, and the inscription "Visit our vineyards, O Lord, and we shall dwell in thee."
 The surprise is that the egg, when taken from its stand, can be opened up, unfolding into eight oval panels, each rimmed in pearls.
 Thus are revealed miniatures on ivory by Johannes Zehngraf (1857-1908) depicting the Institutions of which the Dowager Empress was patroness, founded principally for the education of young girls. This egg commemorates the centennial celebration of the patronage of charitable institutions by the Dowager Empress of Russia.
The institutions, founded mainly for the education of the daughters of the nobility, are depicted on an extending folding screen of eight ivory miniatures, each within a pearl border. On the back of the miniatures are listed the institutions portrayed. Closed, the panels form the entire egg, the surface separations of which are ingeniously concealed.
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