Russian Imperial Porcelain Easter Eggs
Ongoing: Forget the crayons, dye pots and little bent wire holders. For truly classy Easter eggs, go see the hand-painted bibelots that 19th- and early 20th-century Russian aristocrats exchanged on Easter. There won't be any of the legendary bejeweled Fabergé eggs that the czars presented to their immediate family, but many of the 85 eggs on display were commissioned by the Romanovs for members of the imperial court. Produced by Russia's Imperial Porcelain Factory, the eggs were handed by the czar and his family to the aristocrats who attended the Easter service, which was the high point of the Russian Orthodox church year. Besides royal monograms and images of saints, the eggs include lavish floral designs, traditional patterns and even a 1916 Red Cross from World War I, when porcelain eggs were given to soldiers on the front lines or the wounded in battlefield hospitals. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 13. $9 adults. The Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Av. S., Mpls. 612-821-9045, tmora.org)
