Lapis Lazuli (Fabergé egg)

The Lapis Lazuli egg is a jewelled Fabergé egg, attributed to the House of Fabergé in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia. Unlike many of the other Fabergé eggs, Lapis Lazuli was a private commission and isn't considered to be one of the imperial Easter eggs,^[1] as it was never given to a Russian Tsarina.

Lapis Lazuli Fabergé egg
Year delivered	1885-1890
Customer	Unknown client
Current owner
Individual or institution	Cleveland Museum of Art
Year of acquisition	1965
Design and materials
Materials used	Lapis lazuli, gold, enamel, pearls, diamonds, rubies
Height	45 millimetres (1.8 in)
Width	59 millimetres (2.3 in)
Surprise	The egg opens to reveal a yolk, which contains an imperial crown and small ruby egg.

It is currently part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection.^[2]

Design

The egg opened, revealing the decorative yolk, a tiny Russian Imperial crown, and an egg-shaped ruby pendant.

The egg exterior primarily consists of lapis lazuli, a deep-blue metamorphic rock. It is also made up of gold, enamel, pearls, diamonds, and rubies.^[3][4] Inside the egg is a decorative orb (a "yolk") that can be opened to reveal a miniature imperial crown as well as a small ruby.^[5]

The egg is unmarked.^[6] The design is similar to the Kelch Hen, another Fabergé egg that is red and contains a similar decorative yolk with a small hen inside of it.^[4][6][7]

History

The egg was created in the late 1800s or early 1900s by the House of Fabergé.^[3] The Cleveland Museum of Art estimates it may have been created between 1885 and 1890.^[5] The original commissioner or owner of the egg is unknown.^[7]

India Early Minshall started collecting Fabergé objects in 1937.^[8] In the following decades, Minshall acquired many more Fabergé works, including the Lapis Lazuli and Red Cross with Triptych eggs.^[8][2] Following her death in 1965, Minshall's private collection was given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, who proceeded to display over 60 items from her collection in a special exhibition.^[9] Lapis Lazuli continues to be displayed at the Museum as part of the India Early Minshall Collection.^[6][5]

Authenticity

In two articles, the first one published in September 2021 in The Burlington Magazine^[10] and a second one published in early 2022 in the Fabergé Research Newsletter,^[11] it is hypothesized that this egg might be a Fauxbergé made specifically to contain the original surprises of the Rosebud egg; a miniature version of the Imperial Crown of Russia and an egg-shaped ruby pendant.