Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg
attributed to Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian, 1846–1920)
attributed to House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918)
c. 1885–90
- Medium
- gold, enamel, lapis lazuli, pearls, diamonds, rubies
- Classification
- Miscellaneous
- Dimensions
- Overall: 5.9 x 4.5 cm (2 5/16 x 1 3/4 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
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.
