Viking Glazed 'Resurrection Egg'

CIRCA 9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.

1 5/8 in. (30.4 grams, 41 mm).

A glazed hollow ceramic egg with a hole to the underside and a smaller pellet inside; regular, dragged yellow lines to the outer face.

Provenance

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Literature

See Fornvännen Journal Of Swedish Antiquarian Research, 2025/1 Korta meddelanden, Glazed ceramic resurrection eggs found in Sweden and their Slavic origins, by Rune Edberg, Christina Larsson and Torbjörn Brorsson.

Footnotes

These eggs are usually assigned to Kievan Rus workmanship, but in fact, they were found in a wider geographical area. They are thought to represent an early form of a popular Orthodox tradition of painted eggs, or 'pysanka', popular during the Easter holiday as a symbol of resurrection. However, the symbolism may be pre-Christian, with a connection to an idea of a Cosmic Egg, from which the world was created.

CONDITION

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LOT 0352