Egg Tenderness

Series inspired by the rich tradition of the decorated egg, created by goldsmith Peter Carl Fabergé, who in 1883 was commissioned by the tsar to prepare a special gift for Tsarina Maria; the goldsmith created the first Fabergé egg for the occasion, a platinum egg enameled in white containing an additional egg, created in gold, which in turn contained two gifts: a reproduction of the imperial crown and a gold chick. The fame that Fabergé's first egg had also helped spread the tradition of the gift inside the egg.

In this case, the craftsman wanted to bring innovation to what are more traditional techniques, enriching the artifact with a depiction of the Mother of God of Vladimir (late 10th-early 11th century).

The first mention of the icon is found in the chronicles of the year 1155 where it is said that the icon was brought from Constantinople to Kiev to the Vychgorod monastery. In the year 1155 Prince S. Andrew Bogolubsky brought the icon to his principality of Vladimir-Suzdal, decorated it with a gold frame and placed it in the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir on the Kliasma River. Her fame and name derive from this city. The Mother of God of Vladimir belongs to the iconographic type "Tenderness."

In the icon called the "Tenderness" we see the Infant Jesus with His left cheek resting on the right cheek of Our Lady. The icon represents the relationship full of tenderness, between the Mother and the Son.