The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 10, 2026

A tan, egg-shaped capsule that opens up down the middle to display a smaller white egg with a red cross on each side. In the middle of the crosses are miniatures of two faces and inside the white egg, which opens up to the side to display panels, is a depiction of Christ's ressurection along with patron saints.

Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg

1915
designer

Peter Carl Fabergé

(Russian, 1846–1920)
workmaster

Henrik Wigström

(Russian, 1862–1923)
maker

House of Fabergé

(Russian, 1842–1918)
Russia, St. Petersburg
gold, silver gilt, enamel, glass, ivory
Overall: 8.6 x 6.4 cm (3 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
The India Early Minshall Collection 1963.673
Location: 211 Fabergé

Did You Know?

This egg was confiscated by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution and sold by the government of Josef Stalin in the 1930s to raise money for the Soviet treasury.

Description

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.
  • ?-1963
    India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1963-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hawley, Henry H. Fabergé and His Contemporaries: The India Early Minshall Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned: p. 30, cat. 11; Reproduced: p. 31. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Habsburg, Géza von, and David Park Curry. Fabergé in America. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Mentioned: pp. 23, 96-98, 115, cat. 99, 124; Reproduced: pp. 97, 115. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Tillander-Godenhielm, Ulla, and Peter Carl Fabergé. Fabergé: ja hänen suomalaiset mestarinsa. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 2008. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 216-217. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Harrison, Stephen, Emmanuel Ducamp, and Jeannine J. Falino. Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Mentioned: pp. 53-54, 177; Reproduced: pp. 55, 177; p. 328 cat. 62. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Franklin, David, and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with London: Scala Publishers, 2012. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 300-301. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    McFerrin, Dorothy and Tatiana. Fabergé. From a Snowflake to an Iceberg: The McFerrin Collection. Houston, TX: McFerrin Foundation, 2013. Reproduced: p. 153. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Bidwell, Frederick E., and Leslie Cade. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New York: Scala Arts Publishers, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 147 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • Fabergé: Romance to Revolution. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (November 20, 2021-May 8, 2022) https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/faberge.
    The Last Tsar: Blood and Revolution. Science Museum, London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (September 20, 2018-March 24, 2019).
    Fabergé: Designing Luxury, from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 13, 2013).
    From Rublev to Fabergé: The Journey of Russian Art and Culture to America. Museum & Gallery at Heritage Green, Greenville, SC (October 21, 2011-January 29, 2012).
    Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2008-January 18, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 7-May 31, 2009).
    Fabergé's Menagerie: The Animal Creations of the Fabergé Workshop. Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (February 8-May 2, 2004).
    Fabergé in America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (February 12-May 5, 1996); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (organizer) (May 25-July 28, 1996); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (August 24-November 2, 1996); New Orleans Museum of Art (December 7, 1996-February 8, 1997); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-May 11, 1997).
    Faberge, Imperial Jeweler. St. George Hall of the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (June 18-August 15, 1993); Musée des arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (September 24, 1993-January 2, 1994); Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (January 26-April 10, 1994).
    Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
    Faberge 1846 - 1920. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (June 23-October 23, 1977).
    The India Early Minshall Collection: Faberge and his Contemporaries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 1967-January 21, 1968).
    The Art of Carl Faberge. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (organizer) (August 10-September 27, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg|url=false|author=Peter Carl Fabergé, Henrik Wigström, House of Fabergé|year=1915|access-date=10 February 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.673