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Easter Eggs Symbolising Rebirth
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The earliest known painted eggs came from a German grave of c.1500 BC. They seem to have symbolised new life and fertility appropriate to a spring festival, and in Christian times they not only celebrated Easter but also the rising of Christ. However eggs were forbidden in Lent by Pope Gregory the Great (590-604), and so they became a special luxury at Easter and were beautifully decorated with colours, specially red. Mary Magdalene was connected with the symbolism of eggs that could repell evil. The Ukranians often used blue dots on the eggs to symbolise the tears of the Virgin Mary. The Romanians explain that the Virgin Mary left a basket of eggs at the foot of the cross as a gift to the soldiers begging them not to hurt Jesus any more. They ignored this and the blood of Christ stained the eggs red. The Romanians also say that if Christians stop dyeing eggs red at Easter then the end of the world is at hand. |
According to the Poles eggs coloured in red, green, yellow were given to the child Jesus to play with, though in countries of Orthodox faith, the colour of eggs is usually red. The artistic egg painters often used to use wax-resist leaving areas undyed when the egg is dipped in colour. The Poles used collage of paper strips and the Serbians coils of metal or wood stuck on. The eggs were often presented by a girl to her beloved. Sometimes flowers were pressed on shells. The usual medium, however, was ink, dyes or watercolour. |
Jewelled Eggs At Easter
It was a custom at Easter in Imperial Russia that wealthy families gave each other presents of fabulously decorated eggs. These often included gold and precious metals, gems and precious stones. These were often strung together and made into necklaces. |
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A necklace of miniature Easter eggs which has been added to yearly by fine examples made of precious stones and jewels. Some of the most beautiful were made by the famous Russian jeweller Carl Fabergé.In 1870 when he was twenty-four he took over the business and specialised in producing such ornaments as Easter eggs rather than conventional jewellery. He also made jewelled toys for children who came to play in his shop with tiny carved animals while their parents commissioned Fabergé to produce beautiful adult playthings. |
Alexander III Equestrian Egg
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He was capable of blending together many colours such as red, white, green and gold and some of his most successful ornaments are of Siberian jade. He had an immense catalogue of enamels and most had to be heated to six hundred degrees Centigrade to be workable which his workmen did with unparalleled skill sometimes heating to seven hundred and eight hundred degrees Centigrade. |
Memory of Azov Egg
Moscow Kremlin Egg & Madonna Lily Egg
The Christian liturgical colour from Easter to Whit Sunday is clean white. However if the white is dirty any other clean colour can be substituted. The white of the egg is a symbol of hope, regeneration and resurrection. Pagan symbolism was white for the Tueutonic goddess of Spring and Dawn.
Publications
ANGELOU, M. (1967) Fabergé. Sunday Times. 22nd January 1967.
SNOWMAN, K. (1967) The Art of Carl Fabergé.
Wikipeia: Fabergé Egg. Click here to read the article.
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