Imperial Porcelain Factory, Easter egg with miniature of the Nativity of Christ after an 1887 design by Osip Chirikov (?-1903), the reverse painted after a design by Aleksandr Stepanovich Kaminskii (1829-1897), St. Petersburg, 1887-1890s

Porcelain, enamel glazes, gilding

Height 4 3/4 in. (12 cm)

Inv. no. ab_0181

Osip Chirikov (d. 1903), a distinguished icon painter and restorer, was commissioned to create a series of images of the Orthodox feasts for copying on porcelain eggs. Chirikov’s detailed designs were expensive and time-consuming to copy and only a comparatively small number could be finished each year. The emperor personally oversaw Chirikov’s work and not all designs were automatically approved.