Egg-shaped Cup
(18th and 19th Centuries )
On the front of the cup, within a bower of foliage, a cherub paints XR in Cyrillic (for Christ is Risen) on an egg, while a blue-headed bird angrily protests. A glorious sunrise serves as the background. The exterior of the cup is otherwise decorated with pink flowers on one side of the vignette and, on the other, with violet and blue blossoms. Distinctive features of this piece are the large, silver acanthus leaves set with an oval green stone and two smaller red cabochon stones. Raised beading is used to designate the flowers' anthers. The cup's jagged rim resembles the edge of a broken egg shell.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Jean M. Riddell, Washington, D.C. [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by bequest.
Geographies
Russia, Moscow (Place of Origin)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Jean M. Riddell, 2010
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.862