Our congratulations on spring holidays!

We are celebrating Labor Day 1^st of May and orthodox Easter during the May holidays this year.

We have set up a tradition and prepared a new thematic photo album. This time it is devoted to Easter souvenirs fr om the collection of our museum.

The tradition to shower the relatives and close friends on this day exists long ago both in Russia, and in Europe. Children toys, items for house decoration and elegant utensils are very popular gifts on this occasion. The major apanage of the holiday is an egg, being a symbol of revival and renewal.

Easter eggs were created from various materials and in different technicians. Since the beginning of the 17^th century, Armory and large monasteries’ icon-painting workshops were the main producers of those souvenirs in Russia. Those were the places wh ere abundantly ornamented Easter items had been worked out of wood or carved of bone. They were delivered to the Imperial Court and to the notable property owners’ families as well. From the middle of the 18^th century, the eggs were made of glass and porcelain, and the majority of the orders were placed in the Imperial porcelain plant. At the beginning of the 19^th century, it was common to hang porcelain eggs that were decorated with elegant silk tapes on the wall under icons. Easter eggs from papier-mache from workshops of a varnish miniature of Palekh, Mstera and Fedoskin came to fashion a little later.

Beginning from the middle of the 19th century Easter souvenirs manufacturing became the central focus for jewellery workshops. Easter eggs were made of silver and gold, decorated by enamel, beads, bejeweled and covered with a lacelike tracery of filigree. There is no doubt that nowadays the custom-made for the Imperial family by Karl Fabergé's workshops Easter eggs have acquired major popularity and prominence. Fabergé's workshops was the place were first Easter eggs–surprises had been created: with winding mechanisms, tiny figures, portrait medallions. The highest execution technology, abundance of decoration, skill and the imagination of artists - all this guaranteed the world recognition.

However, not only Fabergé's masters turned to Easter theme. The works of remarkable Russian jewellers A. Lyubavin and O. Kurlyukov, several contemporary works of the German jeweller Manfred Vild, who is often and quite reasonably is called "Fabergé of the 21^st century», are presented In our photo album as well.

Our congratulation on the holidays, friends! Well-being and prosperity to you, your relatives and friends!