Artwork Page for Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

Details / Information for Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

c. 1885–90
designer

attributed to Peter Carl Fabergé

(Russian, 1846–1920)
maker

attributed to House of Fabergé

(Russian, 1842–1918)
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Culture
Russia, St. Petersburg
Medium
gold, enamel, lapis lazuli, pearls, diamonds, rubies
Measurements
Overall: 5.9 x 4.5 cm (2 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.436
Public Domain
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Location
211 Fabergé
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Did You Know?

This egg may have been made for one of the tsar's relatives very early in the run of imperial Easter egg production by Fabergé.

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.
Lapis lazuli blue egg opened to reveal a white interior with a cylindrical section like an orange-yellow egg yolk, which in turn opens to show a domed crown heavily patterned with diamonds. Placed next to the crown on the eggwhite is a cylindrical, red ruby on a chain. Where the egg opens on the exterior, a band of pearls encircles the egg. The crown is reflected in the egg yolk compartment's gold interior.

Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg

c. 1885–90

Peter Carl Fabergé, House of Fabergé

(Russian, 1846–1920), (Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg

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