The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg

Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg

1915
(Russian, 1846–1920)
(Russian, 1862–1923)
(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

Commissioned to honor Empress Alexandra's founding of the Red Cross in Russia at the start of the First World War as well as the commitment to wartime service of her and her daughters Olga and Tatiana, this egg is poignant in its spare design. Compared to other Fabergé eggs elaborately ornamented with jewels, the egg reflects the mood of austerity in Russia during World War I with its two simple red enamel crosses, emblazoned with miniatures of Olga and Tatiana, over a white enamel background. When opened, the egg reveals a depiction of Christ's resurrection flanked by the patron saints of the two young grand duchesses.
  • ?-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=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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