Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg
designer Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian, 1846–1920)
workmaster Henrik Wigström (Russian, 1862–1923)
maker House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918)
1915
- Medium
- gold, silver gilt, enamel, glass, ivory
- Classification
- Miscellaneous
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8.6 x 6.4 cm (3 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- Russia, St. Petersburg
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Decorative Art and Design
- Credit line
- The India Early Minshall Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
The House of Fabergé made two imperial Easter eggs in 1915 that honored the contributions of Tsarina Alexandra and her two eldest daughters, Olga and Tatiana, to the war effort as Red Cross Sisters of Mercy. Compared to other Fabergé eggs elaborately ornamented with jewels, the eggs reflected the mood of austerity in Russia during World War I. This version becomes an icon when opened, revealing miniatures of the patron saints of the tsarina’s daughters. After the Russian Revolution, this relic of the Tsarist past was sold by the Soviet government to raise needed cash for the treasury.
