# Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

- By: Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian, 1846–1920)
- By: House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918)
- Date: 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
- Credit line: The India Early Minshall Collection
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.436.a)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1966.436.a/1966.436.a_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Peter Carl Fabergé became the crown jeweler to the imperial court of Russia 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 lazui from the Ural Mountains, this egg conceals a delightful surprise within of an imperial crown and a tiny ruby or pink sapphire on a chain.