Nothing says Easter like the egg. The humble ovoid packs 6 grams of protein, contains 9 essential amino acids, is naturally gluten-free and has zero carbs and no sugar. Eat them because they're good for you, but decorate them because it's fun. This year I'm tattooing my eggs. You'll find suggestions and hints for the how-to all over the internet, especially Pinterest.
TATTOO YOUR EGGS
This year I'm opting for the simple but nonetheless satisfying way to decorate--using temporary tattoos. I got my tats from Jazzams, a super cool toy store near here in Peddler's Village. But you can get yours in lots of other places like cards shops, online, and in Cracker Jacks Boxes dated before 2016!
image courtesy of the Forbe collection
GO ON A Fabergé EGG HUNT
Image courtesy of the Forbes Collection
Nothing says lavish quite like the Easter gift was given to Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1885 by her husband Emperor Alexander III. The “Hen Egg” designed by Carl Fabergé is a white enamel shell and inside, a gold yolk, with a pure gold hen enclosed inside, Russian nesting doll style. Inside the hen is a mini diamond replica of the royal crown and a tiny ruby egg pendant. It was the first of 50 such eggs comprising the Imperial Easter Egg series.
When Alexander III died in 1894 his son Nicholas II doubled the order, and commissioned two eggs each year--one for his mother Maria and another for his own wife, the Czarina Alexandra. The Faberge Egg series continued until the Russian revolution began in 1917 and czars were overthrown and the Faberge family fled Russia. During this time many of the eggs were confiscated by the Bolsheviks some never to be seen again. Of the original 50 eggs, only ten remain in the Kremlin and 8 are still missing. Quite a few of them, though, can be seen right here across our own 50 states.
Here's a list of Fabergé eggs you can find in museums across the US:
DANISH PALACES EGG Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art to see Fabergé from the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection on loan through November 30, 2021. Here you'll find The Imperial Danish Palaces Egg, The Imperial Caucasus Egg, and the Imperial Napoleonic Egg.
See 5 Fabergé creations from the collector Lillian Thomas Pratt at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Imperial Tsarevich Easter Egg, Imperial Peter the Great, Imperial Pelican, Red Cross Easter Egg With Portraits.
Red Cross Easter Egg, 1915
Hunt for rabbits, eggs, and hens at The Cleveland Museum of Art's CHALLENGE--a quest to find the various Easter related art, including the 3 of the Fabergé Imperial Eggs.
Visit the nation's capital and while you're in DC, check out Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens, the former home of socialite and philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post (who, incidentally, also built the Mar-A-Lago Estate now owned by our current president). At Hillwood, you'll find an impressive collection of art from the Romanov empire, including this Twelve Monograms Egg from 1851.
