Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

Description

Peter Carl Fabergé became the crown jeweler to the imperial court of Russia in 1885 after he produced the very first Easter egg for Tsar Alexander III to give to his wife, Empress Marie Feodorovna. Fabergé created his celebrated Easter eggs, symbols of rebirth and renewal, as gifts for the Russian imperial family every year until he had to leave the country in 1919 after the Russian Revolution. Made of gold and lapis lazuli from the Ural Mountains, this egg opens to reveal a compartment enameled to resemble an egg yolk, which contains yet another delightful surprise of an imperial crown holding a tiny ruby or pink sapphire on a chain.

Provenance

India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-1966); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1966-)

Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

Peter Carl Fabergé

c. 1885–90

Accession Number

1966.436

Medium

gold, enamel, lapis lazuli, pearls, diamonds, rubies

Dimensions

Overall: 5.9 x 4.5 cm (2 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.)

Classification

Miscellaneous

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

The India Early Minshall Collection