BY THE IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FACTORY, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1880-1890, AFTER A MODEL BY A.K. SPIESS

A similar biscuit porcelain egg also modelled by Spiess with angels on a light green ground is illustrated in in T. Kudriavtseva and H. Whitbeck, Russian Imperial Easter Eggs, London, 2001, p. 269, no. 224. A further related example from a private collection is included in Kostbare Ostereier aus dem Zarenreich aus der Sammlung Adulf Peter Goop Vaduz Mit Texten von Alexij II, Patriarch von Moskau und ganz Russland, Munich, 1992, no. 222. August Spiess was the head of the Imperial Porcelain Factory's sculpture workshop during the second half of the nineteenth century and oversaw the production of biscuit vases, plaques and easter eggs, all executed in the manner of Wedgwood designs.