Style Liberty Russian Easter Egg - a photo on Flickriver

This hollow wooden egg-shaped lidded box was carved and painted completely by hand in Russia, yet it was painted in a mixture of traditional Russian and Art Nouveau styles. This is because it was custom made to be sold at London’s luxury department store, Liberty, which is synonymous with the Arts and Crafts Movement or “Style Liberty” in the United Kingdom. The egg has a background of black which is decorated with a mixture of stylised blue and pink daisies, white jonquils and a pink William Morris rose in the centre. The space between the blooms and their stems and foliage is highlighted with silver dots.

A gift to me when I was thirteen by my Swiss born Great Aunt, with whom I used to shop at Liberty when it was still known for its fashionable and eclectic design in fabrics, furnishings and obect d’arts, this egg is an Easter Egg. It was part of a display of luxury Russian goods imported by Liberty for Easter including exquisite examples of amber jewellery. She bought herself a pair of silver and amber drop earrings with an ant in each droplet, and she bought me this wooden Easter egg because it took my fancy. I loved the Art Nouveau design and the mixture of beautiful colours in an unusual combination. It has travelled with me around the world and has lived in every home I have ever lived in. Over the many passing years since I was thirteen the lacquer on its surface has aged and the white jonquils are now a creamy yellow, but I love it, and amazingly it still carries the same wooden smell inside that it had when I was first gifted it. It has served as a cufflink box, a button box, a ribbon box or just as a beautiful curio. It serves the latter purpose today as it sits with some of my other Russian hand-painted jewellery boxes on my vestibule console table.

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” this week is “eggs in black and white”, where any egg is fine to be submitted, so long as it is in black and white, greyscale or various shades of grey. I originally took a photo of some foil wrapped chocolate easter eggs in an egg-shaped Easter tin. As I finished, I suddenly thought of my beloved Russian “Style Liberty” egg and I liked it better as a submission for the theme. I hope that you like it.

If you wish to see a colour version of the egg, please click here to view: www.flickr.com/photos/40262251@N03/51090708827/in/datepos...

Liberty, commonly known as Liberty's, is a luxury department store in London. It is located on Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London. Known around the world for its close connection to art and culture, it is most famous for its bold and floral print fabrics. It is synonymous with William Morris and Gabriel Rossetti patterned fabrics made from pure cotton Tana Lawn, manufactured in Italy.

Taken on: March 23, 2021

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/15 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.067 sec (1/15)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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