History of the egg

A Brief History of Eggs

egg Celebrated since the dawn of time, the egg is a symbol of fertility, creation and new life. Though long considered a springtime food, it has now become an essential ingredient in all our culinary traditions.

The ancient Persian and Celtic cultures celebrated the spring equinox with the gift of red-dyed eggs. The eggs were shared at a meal, and afterwards, the shells were carefully crushed, a ritual to drive away winter.

The ban of eating eggs during the 46 days of Lent established in the 9th century, is what made the egg so popular at Easter. The eggs were collected and saved and, once the fasting was over, were distributed to the servants and children, who generally enjoyed them in a huge Easter omelette. As the practice became more refined, the nobility got into the act, using the last days of winter to decorate eggs to give to their beloved, their master or the King. By the 16th century, these springtime eggs were all the rage at the court of France, with some being decorated by a few of the greatest artists of the day.

However, the popularity of the Easter egg reached untold heights at the court of the Czar of Russia. By the end of the 19th century, the court jeweller, Carl Fabergé, was making fabulous eggs of gold, crystal and porcelain. Today, hand-decorated eggs are exchanged as springtime gifts in many cultures and play a very important role in religious ceremonies on Easter morning. Some families carefully save their egg collection, passing them on from generation to generation.

Whether straight out of ancient tradition, brought from Rome on the sound of church bells, or mysteriously laid by the Easter Bunny, the decorated egg, be it cooked or raw, full or hollow, made of wood, clay or silver, or of sugar or chocolate, will no doubt remain an undeniable token of friendship and love.

Who’ll get your egg this year?

Fabergé egg

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Fabergé's Moscow Kremlin Egg, 1906
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Fabergé's Moscow Kremlin Egg, 1906

A Fabergé egg is one of fifty jewelry Easter eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé of the Fabergé company for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917. The eggs are among the masterpieces of the jeweller's art.

Fabergé (or more accurately, his goldsmiths) made the first egg in 1885. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III of Russia as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna. On the outside it looked like a simple egg of white enamelled gold, but it opened up to reveal a golden yolk. The yolk itself had a golden hen inside it, which in turn had a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside, reminiscent of the matryoshka nesting dolls.

The tsarina was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a "Court Supplier" and commissioned an Easter gift each year thereafter, stipulating only that it be unique and contain a surprise. Nicholas II continued the tradition, expanding it to include an annual gift for his wife Alexandra Fedorovna as well as his now-widowed mother.

As the House of Fabergé prospered (due to in no small part to the cachet of imperial patronage), the preparation of the eggs came to take up an entire year; once a concept was chosen, dozens of artisans worked to assemble the project.

Memory of Azov Egg
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Memory of Azov Egg

The themes and appearance of the eggs varied wildly. For instance, on the outside, the Trans-Siberian railway Egg of 1900 was dominated by a dull metallic gray band with a map of the railway's route, but inside it had an entire tiny train in gold.

Fifty seven eggs were produced in all. The Order of St. George Egg left Russia with Maria Fyodorovna in 1918, but the rest remained, forgotten in the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Several disappeared in the looting, and the rest were boxed up in the vaults of the Kremlin. In and after 1930, Stalin had fourteen sold in western art auctions to raise cash, some for as little as US$400. Many of these were bought by Armand Hammer.

As of 2003, just ten eggs were still in Russia, all on display at the Kremlin Armory Museum. Another nine were purchased by Viktor Vekselberg in February 2004 from the Forbes family in New York city. The Vekselberg collection arrived in Russia in July 2004. Smaller collections are in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, New Orleans Museum of Art, and other museums around the world. Four eggs are in private collections, and eight are still missing.

In the modern day, a number of companies, including Victor Mayer, the inheritor of the Fabergé brand, offer "Fabergé eggs" whose designs are inspired by the originals.

 

Local artists created the decorated eggs, which represent each state and the District of Columbia. The 2002 Easter Egg Collection continues the tradition that began in 1994 where each state sends a decorated egg to the White House for display. The display includes a painted cracked egg representing Virginia and the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon. The collection is coordinated by the American Egg Board.


 

 

 

 

 

 

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