- Type: Artist Video
- Collection: Decorative Arts, European Art, Faberge
- Culture/Region: Europe
- Subject Area: History and Social Science, Visual Arts
- Grade Level: k-12, college, adult
This red-gold egg unfolds into eight oval frames graduated in size and rimmed with pearls. Each frame contains a miniature-on-ivory by the imperial court painter Johannes Zehngraf of orphanages and educational institutions of which Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna was patroness. The frames are held upright by a flat gold stand, engraved with symbols of science and the arts, anchored between the fourth and fifth frames.
Reverse side of Imperial Pelican Easter Egg miniatures
The reverse sides of the miniatures are inscribed with the names of the institutions that appear on the front, except for the first and the last, which are noted on the neighboring oval since those sections form part of the egg’s exterior. The pelican that gives the egg its name balances at the top, standing in a nest that holds three chicks. The pelican was a personal symbol of the dowager empress, as well as a recognized symbol of maternal care that recalls the sacrifice of Christ: the pelican tears her flesh so that her children may feed and live.