Easter is almost upon us. 3rd – 6th April. We will soon be devouring our Easter eggs, Hard boiled decorated eggs, Hollow eggs, Chocolate eggs, and Marshmallow eggs.
Eggs were a traditional symbol of fertility or birth, associated with the Northern hemisphere spring. Early Christians in Mesopotamia believed that eggs symbolized the empty tomb of Jesus from which Jesus was resurrected.
Easter eggs or Paschal eggs were decorated for the Christian festival and gifted to others. The custom of decorated eggs spread from Mesopotamia to Eastern Europe, and Siberia through Orthodox churches and later through Catholic and Protestant churches in Europe.
The Russian Imperial Family took the gifting of decorated eggs to new heights. They commissioned Easter eggs made of precious materials, complete with surprises. The very first was commissioned by the Emperor Alexander 3rd in 1885. Peter Carl Faberge was the creator. Between 1885 and 1916, fifty easter eggs were created. It was a dauntless task. No sooner had the eggs been delivered than it was time to plan for the next years gifts.
One of the most spectacularly decorated Easter eggs was the Winter Egg, gifted by The Tsar Nicolai to his mother in 1913. It was designed at the Faberge workshop by a young woman, just 20 years old- Alma Phil. Legend has it that she was looking out of the workshop window and was captivated by the beautifully frosted ice crystals forming on the glass.
Legend has it that she was looking out of the workshop window and was captivated by the beautifully frosted ice crystals forming on the glass.
Replicating what she saw, she designed the egg to appear to sit on a shard of melting ice.
The egg was crafted from rock crystal and embellished with 4,508 rose-cut diamonds.
Little silvered rivulets made of platinum appear to run down the rock crystal base as if the thaw has begun. Carved on the egg the glittering fingers of frost apparently appear to be so authentic that you would think they were cold to the touch.
Then the surprise. As with all Faberge Easter eggs there was a mechanism which allowed the egg to open. When the egg opened, inside was the daintiest spring bouquet of wood anemones. Carved delicately out of white quartz with golden stems and stamens they are arranged in a platinum lattice basket studded with rose cut diamonds. The promise of Spring for Russia was just around the corner.
Just in case you think it would make a nice present. It was sold at the end of 2025 at Christies Auction House in London for the princely sum of 22. 9 million pounds.
Check out “The Winter Egg” on Google to see this exquisite masterpiece of work.
