Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg
Peter Carl Fabergéc. 1885–90
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
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.
- Title: Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg
- Creator: Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian, 1846–1920), House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918)
- Date Created: c. 1885–90
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 5.9 x 4.5 cm (2 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
- Provenance: India Early Minshall [1885–1965], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Miscellaneous
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.436.a
- Medium: gold, enamel, lapis lazuli, pearls, diamonds, rubies
- Fun Fact: This egg may have been made for one of the tsar's relatives very early in the run of Fabergé's production of Easter eggs.
- Department: Decorative Art and Design
- Culture: Russia, St. Petersburg
- Credit Line: The India Early Minshall Collection
- Collection: Decorative Arts
- Accession Number: 1966.436.a
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