A A Russian egg, 19th Century.

Tsarskoye Selo was the town containing the former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, situated south from the center of Saint Petersburg. In the 17th century, the estate belonged to a Swedish noble. Its original Finnish name was Saaren kylä (Island village) pronounced by the 18th-century Russians as "Sarskoye Selo", later changed to Tsarskoye Selo (the royal village). In 1708, Peter the Great gave the estate to his wife, the future Empress Catherine I, as a present. Catherine I started to develop the place as a royal country residence. Later Empress Catherine II of Russia and her architect Charles Cameron extended the palace building that is now known as the Cameron Gallery, designed by Charles Cameron.
Charles Cameron was an architect and interior designer of Scots origin, who came to Russia in 1779 at the request of Catherine the Great, and established himself as one of the Empress's favourite designers, working at Tsarskoe Selo for over fifteen years.