The Lapis Lazuli egg is a jewelled Fabergé egg, attributed to the House of Fabergé in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia. Unlike many of the other Fabergé eggs, Lapis Lazuli was a private commission and isn't considered to be one of the imperial Easter eggs,[1] as it was never given to a Russian Tsarina.
| Lapis Lazuli Fabergé egg | |
|---|---|
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| Year delivered | 1885-1890 |
| Customer | Unknown client |
| Current owner | |
| Individual or institution | Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Year of acquisition | 1965 |
| Design and materials | |
| Materials used | Lapis lazuli, gold, enamel, pearls, diamonds, rubies |
| Height | 45 millimetres (1.8 in) |
| Width | 59 millimetres (2.3 in) |
| Surprise | The egg opens to reveal a yolk, which contains an imperial crown and small ruby egg. |
It is currently part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection.[2]
Design
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The egg exterior primarily consists of lapis lazuli, a deep-blue metamorphic rock. It is also made up of gold, enamel, pearls, diamonds, and rubies.[3][4] Inside the egg is a decorative orb (a "yolk") that can be opened to reveal a miniature imperial crown as well as a small ruby.[5]
The egg is unmarked.[6] The design is similar to the Kelch Hen, another Fabergé egg that is red and contains a similar decorative yolk with a small hen inside of it.[4][6][7]
History
editThe egg was created in the late 1800s or early 1900s by the House of Fabergé.[3] The Cleveland Museum of Art estimates it may have been created between 1885 and 1890.[5] The original commissioner or owner of the egg is unknown.[7]
India Early Minshall started collecting Fabergé objects in 1937.[8] In the following decades, Minshall acquired many more Fabergé works, including the Lapis Lazuli and Red Cross with Triptych eggs.[8][2] Following her death in 1965, Minshall's private collection was given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, who proceeded to display over 60 items from her collection in a special exhibition.[9] Lapis Lazuli continues to be displayed at the Museum as part of the India Early Minshall Collection.[6][5]
Authenticity
editIn two articles, the first one published in September 2021 in The Burlington Magazine[10] and a second one published in early 2022 in the Fabergé Research Newsletter,[11] it is hypothesized that this egg might be a Fauxbergé made specifically to contain the original surprises of the Rosebud egg; a miniature version of the Imperial Crown of Russia and an egg-shaped ruby pendant.
Notes
edit- ^ Lowes, p. 165.
- ^ a b "Search the Collection: 1966.436". Cleveland Museum of Art. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b "Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg". Cleveland Museum of Art. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b "Mieks Fabergé Eggs". www.wintraecken.nl. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b c "Easter Egg with Crown and Ruby Surprise". Cleveland Museum of Art. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b c Lowes, p. 153.
- ^ a b "Lapis Lazuli Hen Egg Faberge 1886". faberge-eggs.info. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b "India Early Minshall and Her Fabergé Collection". Cleveland Museum of Art. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ Cleveland Museum of Art (1967-03-03). Exhibition -The India Early Minshall Collection Faberge and His Contemporaries. Cleveland Museum of Art.
- ^ "The Lapis Lazuli Egg in the Cleveland Museum of Art". The Burlington Magazine. 2021.
- ^ "Lost Surprises of the 1895 Fabergé Rosebud Egg Have Been Identified". Fabergé Research Newsletter. 2022.
References
edit- Hawley, Henry H (1967). Fabergé and his contemporaries : the India Early Minshall Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio, United States: Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Lowes, Will (2001). Fabergé eggs : a retrospective encyclopedia. McCanless, Christel Ludewig. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3946-6. OCLC 44811866.
External links
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