Cleveland Museum of Art

Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg

Peter Carl Fabergé

Date

1915

Medium

gold, silver gilt, enamel, glass, ivory

Culture

Russia, St. Petersburg

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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. 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.

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