Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg, Fabergé egg in Cleveland Museum of Art, United States
The Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg is a Fabergé creation featuring horizontal enamel bands outlined in gold with distinctive guilloche patterns throughout. Each band displays white enamel decorated with red crosses marking 1914 and 1915, and the piece measures approximately 8.6 centimeters tall and 6.35 centimeters wide.
Tsar Nicholas II commissioned this egg from Henrik Wigström in 1915 as a gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The work was created to honor her service in the Red Cross during World War I.
The egg displays five oval miniature portraits of Romanov women dressed in Red Cross uniforms, documenting the family's involvement in medical aid efforts during World War I. This visual tribute shows how members of the imperial household contributed to wartime relief work.
This egg is displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio within a protective glass case. The small, intricate object is best viewed up close to appreciate the fine enamel details and the interior portraits.
When opened, the egg reveals a hidden folding screen with five oval openings bordered in mother-of-pearl that frame the portraits. Each portrait bears the engraved monogram of the depicted person on its reverse side, adding a personal touch.
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