History of Egg Artistry

Egg decorating dates back to before the time of Christ. It is recorded that in ancient China, colored eggs were given during spring fertility festivals. As the mysterious source of new life, the egg was thought to have great magical powers and thus was held in awe and reverence by many ancient peoples.

Over the centuries the art of egg decorating became more sophisticated. By the thirteenth century gold leaf eggs were known to have been presented to the English Court by King Edward I, and by the sixteenth century eggs with "surprises" in them came into existence. Eggs were very popular among European nobility of this era, and by the reign of Louis XV the decorating and giving of eggs was widespread.

Practically every country has its version of the decorated egg and today we can see the special styles and techniques each has developed and handed down through the ages. One style is the jeweled style, made famous by Peter Carl Faberge, jeweler to the Russian Court. His Imperial Easter Eggs, made between 1884 an 1916 were not made of actual eggshells, but of precious metals and jewels.

Egg art is fairly young in our country but with the techniques and tools of today it is emerging as a unique form of art.