The Resurrection egg is a jewelled

rock crystal Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical fo ...

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

believed to have been made by

Michael Perchin Michael Evlampievich Perkhin (; 1860-1903) was a Russian jeweler. Born in Prionezhsky District, Okulovskaya in Olonets Governorate (now Republic of Karelia), he moved to St. Petersburg, he joined the House of Fabergé. With Henrik Wigström, h ...

under the supervision of the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n jeweller

Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...

sometime before 1899. Long considered to be a separate

Fabergé egg A Fabergé egg () is a jewelled egg first created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 Czarist Russia Era eggs were created, of which 61 are currently known to have survived. Virtually all of the ...

, it has been postulated that the Resurrection egg is actually the missing surprise from the Renaissance egg. The egg depicts

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

rising from his tomb, and it is the only Fabergé egg to explicitly reference the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

story.

History

The Resurrection egg bears the mark of

and

assay An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity ...

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

indicating that it was made in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

before 1899. Long considered a Fabergé egg, and recognised as such by leading Fabergé experts, it does not bear an inventory number. It has been postulated by

Christopher Forbes Christopher "Kip" Forbes () is vice chairman of the Forbes Publishing company. Life and career He attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Princeton University. His brother is Steve Forbes, who has made multiple runs fo ...

that the Resurrection egg is the missing surprise from the 1894 Renaissance egg, as it perfectly fits the curvature of the Renaissance egg's shell, has a similar decoration in enamel on the base, and features a pearl, which is mentioned in the invoice for the Renaissance egg but not present on that egg. The Resurrection egg was bought in 1922 by a London art dealer, then sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

in 1934. Owned by Lord Grantchester, it was bought from his estate by

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

art dealers A La Vieille Russie. In 1978, A La Vieille Russie negotiated a private sale of the Resurrection egg and the First Hen Egg to the Forbes Collection. In 2004, it was sold as part of the Forbes Collection to

Viktor Vekselberg Viktor Felixovich Vekselberg (born April 14, 1957) is a Russian-Israeli businessman and oligarch. He is the founder and chairman of Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate. According to ''Forbes'', as of November 2021, his fortune is estimated at ...

. He purchased nine Imperial Easter eggs, as part of the collection, for almost $100 million.Energy Tribune
The egg is now housed in Vekselberg's Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Surprise

There is no surprise in this egg, possibly because it is a surprise itself.

References

External links

A detailed article on the 'Resurrection' egg
from treasuresofimperialrussia.com {{Fabergé egg Fabergé eggs 1894 works Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia Angels in art Jesus in art

History

Surprise

See also

References

External links