Post by forgottenhistoryhunt on Nov 1, 2020 7:50:33 GMT -5
Solution:
The clues all describe the missing Faberge Imperial Eggs that were given to Maria Feodorovna by her husband, Tsar Alexander III of Russia as Easter gifts. After his death, his son Tsar Nicolas II took over the Easter egg gift-giving. There were 52 eggs made in total, each egg was unique and each contained a 'surprise'. The whereabouts of these six eggs is currently unknown.
The title, "Overseas Matron" is an anagram of "Romanov's Easter"
The Introduction image & poem:
• The sun in the corner represents a star (anagram of Tsar) as well as a son (Nicolas II)
• The first line contains "Don't rush into" = Rush in = Russian
• The second line contains "Put in order" = Putin, the current president, also suggesting Russia
• The Dorabella cipher = 'Use Wikipedia'. I wanted this site used as other sites have conflicting information, but this was optional
• Years = the year of each egg, to be matched with the illustrations
• Background painting is by Prince Rostislav Romanov, a Romanov descendant
Image 1. Mauve Egg, given to Marie by son Nicolas II in 1897.
• The color of image is mauve
• The word "SURPRISE" = the surprise, a 3-leaf clover picture frame, and the only part of this egg that survives
• Three oval colored stones = the egg was enameled in red, green & white, each leaf held a miniature portrait
Image 2. Cherub & Chariot Egg, given to Marie by husband Alexander III in 1888
• Image is a cherub pulling a chariot
• The surprise in this egg was a clock
• The clock time is set for 7:34, or 19:34 = this egg was last seen at a 1934 exhibit. Current location is unknown
• Gold frame because the egg was gold
Image 3. Hen & Basket Egg, given to Marie by husband Alexander III in 1886
• Image of a hen with eggs in a basket
• It contained a sapphire pendant egg, so the egg-shaped frame is sapphire in color
• It's sparkly because the surprise was a diamond-encrusted hen
Image 4. Royal Danish Egg, given to Marie by son Nicolas II in 1903
• Image is of a Danish pastry + the Queen, King & Jack of hearts = Royal Danish
• Card suit is hearts = the gifts were given with love, and the cards = the 'King" Alexander III, the "Queen," Marie, and the "Jack," son Nicholas II
• The deck of cards shows the picture frame from the surprise for this egg, the image inside the frame is the symbol of Denmark's ancient Order of the Elephant, which crowned the egg, and was the family crest of Marie's family
Image 5. Alexander III Egg, given to Marie by son Nicolas II in 1909
• Image is of three Alexanders: Magician, the Great & Alec Baldwin = Alexander III
• Note says: I got these for you, your loving son = the Alexander egg was given to Marie by son Nicolas II
• Gold bust of Alexander the Great = the surprise for this egg was a gold bust of Tsar Alexander III
• The Overseas Matron poem on the bulletin board describes the House of Romanov.
• The highlighted letters of each line = ETUI, a hint to egg with a date but no image - Necessaire egg (necessaire and etui are names for the same thing)
• The white, blue and red stick pins are the colors of the Russian flag, in that order
*The 'missing egg' of this hunt was the Necessaire Egg, given to Marie by son Nicolas II in 1889
• This egg matches the year 1889, the date left over after all the other eggs have been matched to their dates
• The surprise was a set of small toiletry items like scissors, tweezers, and maybe some sewing items
• This was the last of the missing egg to be seen. It was auctioned off in the 1950's, but its current location is unknown
A 7th missing egg was found at an American flea market in 2014 (Third Imperial Egg, 1887), so keep your eye out at those yard sales, flea markets and Goodwill shelves. You never know what you might find!