The Imperial Fabergé Eggs

On the Eve of Easter, it felt appropriate to do a post coinciding with the holiday. Easter originates from the miracle of Christ rising from the tomb, but is embraced secularly too for the big white Easter bunny, pastel colored Easter eggs, and baskets overflowing with Easter candies. These may seem like strange traditions, but they are long standing ones. The Easter bunny tale (ha, get it!?) has been in the Americas since it was brought here by the Germans in the 1700s. Jelly beans and chocolate eggs have been showing up in kid's Easter baskets since before the 1930s.

Longest and most deep rooted of all, the tradition of painting Easter eggs has been around since the 13th century. Yes, you read that correctly. Eggs were an ancient symbol of new life. Even in Christianity, eggs were said to represent the resurrection of Christ. It is hypothesized that the tradition of painting eggs began because eggs may have been a forbidden food during Lent; Christians would decorate them to honor this period of penance before eating them on Easter Sunday. The History Channel has more!

The greatest, most spectacular of all eggs are, without a doubt, the Imperial Fabergé eggs. Interestingly enough, their creation coincides with Easter too!

The Imperial Fabergé Eggs - 1885-1917

Fabergé eggs are a limited-edition creation of Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé and his company. The eggs were produced between 1885 and 1917 and range in style from elegant simplicity (i.e. The Imperial Hen Egg, below) to opulent ornamentation. Of the approximate 54 ever created by Fabergé, only 43 survive today. 

The very first Fabergé egg is referred to today as the Imperial Hen Egg. This egg was crafted for Tsar Alexander III, who gifted it to his wife Tsarina Maria Feodorovna as an Easter present. The egg is initially very simple - A white enamel "shell" encases the outside of the egg. It is when you open it up that you find the matte gold "yolk." Within the yolk is a golden hen with rubies for eyes. It is said that within the hen, there was a miniature diamond replica of the imperial crown adorned with a ruby pendant, but this piece is lost.

Imperial Hen Egg, 1885

The Tsarina was so taken with the gift, she appointed Fabergé a goldsmith of special appointment to the crown and commissioned an egg the following years, with the exceptions of 1905 and 1906 due to the Russo-Japanese war. 3 of the first 5 eggs are unfortunately lost, but we can imagine by those that followed how grand they must have been.

Imperial Coronation Egg, 1896

Probably the most famous of the eggs today is the Imperial Coronation Egg (Ocean's Twelve, anyone?). This egg was made in commemoration of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896 and given to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna as a gift. The translucent yellow enamel field of starbursts is overlaid with a trellis of golden boughs of laurel. Imperial double-headed eagles made of black enamel and a single rose diamond on the chest are situated at each intersection of the trellis. It is said that the patterns on the egg shell were taken from the Tsarina's coronation ensemble.

A requirement of any Fabergé egg was that it had to contain a surprise. The surprise inside this egg was unlike any other - Inside, nestled in the velvet-lined interior was a miniature replica of the coach that brought the Tsarina to her coronation at Uspensky Cathedral. The coach is less than 4 inches long and is claimed to be a faithful reproduction to the original life-size coach even in the coloring of the enamel upholstery on the inside.

Bouquet of Lilies Clock Egg, 1899

The Bouquet of Lilies Clock Egg is one of the larger creations made for the royal family. Again a gift from Nicholas to Alexandra, this egg is a masterpiece in gold, enamel, onyx, and diamonds. The lilies and roses depicted on this Egg symbolized purity/innocence and love, respectively. 

The surprise for this egg is lost, but it was said to be a ruby pendant with rose-cut diamonds.

Both eggs above were made in 1912. The Tsarevich egg (right) was created for Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in tribute to her son, Alexei. Alexei was thought to die young due to hemophilia and after a particularly bad spell where they thought he might not survive, Fabergé created this egg for Alexandra in celebration of his survival. The surprise is the Imperial double-headed eagle, set in platinum and encrusted in diamonds, housing a portrait of young Alexei in the middle. The miniature portrait was originally a watercolor.

The Imperial Napoleonic Egg (left) was gifted to Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna from her son, Nicholas II, in commemoration of the Battle of Borodino during Napoleon's 1912 invasion into Russia. This egg is one of only two where the original concept drawings have been found.

Clover Leaf Egg, 1902

Probably my favorite egg of all is the Clover Leaf egg. This egg is exquisite. This open-work pattern of clover leaves covers the egg, diamond encrusted cloves scattered about their green enamel brothers. Winding bands of gold paved with rubies curl through the field. This egg has never left Russia, considered to be too delicate to travel through absolutely flawless.

The surprise for this egg is also lost, but archives tell us it was a clover leaf pendant set with twenty three diamonds and four miniature portraits of the Tsar's daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. 

These eggs obviously take the "egg decoration" tradition to a magnificent sort of extreme, but I do find it endearing how the family made a tradition of gifting each other commemorative tokens of special times together. I can't speak at all to the politics, but it feels like the Romanovs were a very close family and this tradition they built to be very sweet.

May your Easter be blessed!

Pounamu Tāonga...The Maori Hei Tiki.

Am I on a roll lately, or what? February is making up for my lack of posting in January, that's for sure.

At work, we were planning an ad for a local magazine, and were trying to find pieces in the museum's collection to emphasize. One of my favorite options was this one, a Hei Tiki pendant from New Zealand, created by the Maori peoples. It is the most brilliant green (I'd describe it as a cloudy emerald color), and its eyes are made of haliotis (abalone) shell, which really shines. In New Zealand, this shell is called a paūa shell.

Oceania
Maori peoples, New Zealand
Pendant, Hei Tiki
Nineteenth century
Nephrite, haliotis shell
H. 9 in. (22.9 cm)
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Indiana University Art Museum

I traveled to New Zealand as a People to People Student Ambassador when I was 13. The trip left an indelible mark on me, and spending time with the Maori was one of the incredible experiences. If you are a parent reading this blog, I must absolutely recommend to you that you allow your child the opportunity to participate in one of these international leadership adventures. It helped me grow as a person and become more aware of the world, instead of just myself.

But back to the art.

Foy Brothers, Thames, Young Maori Woman with Moko Wearing Korowai Cloak and Hei Tiki, c. 1872-86, Albumen carte-de-visite photograph, 10.5 x 6.3 cm. Via.

The Indiana University Hei ("something suspended from the neck") Tiki ("human figure") is superficially very similar to most other hei tikis I discovered in my brief look around the web. Most are made of nephrite ("pounamu"), a type of jade, and have eyes inlaid with paūa, like I said. These pendants are considered a tāonga, or "treasure."

Most are either sexless, or female. The British Museum writes that the significance of these tiki is unclear, but it has been suggested that they promote fertility or represent one's ancestors. They can be passed down through families through generations, and sometimes are given names. They are worn by both men and women, though I only have pictures of women wearing them to show you today.

Rotorua, New Zealand, Iles Photo, Young Maori women with moko (facial tattoo); wearing a kahu huruhuru (feather cloak), a huia feather in her hair, and a hei tiki (neck pendant), 19th century, Gelatin silver print. Via.

The markings under the lips of the two women in these photographs are a type of body art called Ta Moko. These markings symbolize achievement, adulthood, and aristocracy. As with most forms of tattoos and body art, the process doesn't sound particularly pleasant (chiseling skin open and applying charcoal into the gouges). This practice is not limited to the face, but can, in some occasions, encompass the entire face (usually on men). This tradition carries on even today.

This website that I found suggests a connection between these tiki and the Gorgons of Greek mythology. An interesting read!