A large Russian Imperial porcelain Easter egg, Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, circa 1890-1900. The pale blue ground egg decorated with stems of bright yellow daisies with deep red centers, pale magenta marguerite daisies, the upper aperture with a gilt blossom border, the lower aperture with a gilt band. Height: 4 1/8” (10.5 cm).
Eggs with pale cream or pastel grounds & decorated with floral studies in Japonesque or loose brushwork inspired by Impressionist painting were particularly popular in the last decade of the nineteenth century.For other examples from the Imperial Porcelain Factory, see: Tamara Kudriavtseva & Harold Whitbeck, Russian Imperial Porcelain Easter Eggs. Русские императорские фарфоровые пасхальные яйцa (London: Merrell, 2001), nos. 203-212, pp. 255-259.The creamy pale green ground ground was obviously influenced by the cream-colored glazes that Lenox had shown at the Paris International Exposition in 1889 to great acclaim & which was imitated by factories throughout Europe & America. At the Imperial Porcelain Factory, these muted pastel glazes were used as grounds for floral or Russian Style ornament.