Hunting for curious eggs?

Have you been searching for eggs on London’s Faberge Big Egg Hunt? I wasn’t especially looking out for them, but on stumbling upon my first egg, I excitedly entered the keyword into my mobile phone, as requested. I promptly received a congratulatory message - which kindly informed me “This text cost £3”. Anyway, I’m sure it’s all for a good cause…












What with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics this year, many of the eggs seem to be London or British inspired – though I was wondering if the butterfly themed number outside Scott's (restaurant) might be a Scotch egg?





The highest concentration of eggs seems to be in Mayfair, where those wishing to disport their wealth generosity must have had the battery hens on overtime. I think I read somewhere that the eggs are being sold off at a charity auction today. According to the website, Marc Quinn’s miminalist-looking contoured egg (see below left) has the highest bid so far.










Oh, and in Selfridges, there’s an interactive egg, which you can help decorate with your picture, by visiting Facebook.


























Meantime, at ShopCurious, we’ve our own curiosity egg in the form of a vintage porcelain hatching turtle. This quirky little fellow is curiously collectable - so perfect for an egg collector, or someone hunting for unusual Easter gifts...

Are you?

Egg curiosities: from sublime to strange

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs were originally a pagan symbol of the rebirth of nature in celebrations of spring, but were adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. Eggs favoured include painted hen’s eggs and chocolate or candy filled varieties.

As we’re adopting something of a royal theme this week, I thought I’d also mention Fabergé eggs:



This year, over a hundred masterpieces by Peter Carl Fabergé, the greatest Russian jeweller and goldsmith of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will go on display in a special exhibition at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace (23 July - 3 October 2011). Royal Fabergé will demonstrate how six successive generations of the British Royal Family, from Queen Victoria to The Queen and The Prince of Wales, have shaped the finest collection of Fabergé in the world in terms of size, range and quality.

Items on show will include the Mosaic Imperial Easter Egg acquired by Queen Mary and King George V, 1933, shown left.

And the Basket of Flowers Imperial Easter Egg, 1901 (right) - the style of which reminds me of a rather lovely mother of pearl egg at ShopCurious. (Photographs from The Royal Collection (c) 2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II)

Also distinctive and unusual, though a little more commonplace, are pickled eggs. Curiously reminiscent of medical specimens, these are often to be found on the shelves of British fish and chip shops, or sometimes behind the counter at selected pubs. If you’re tempted to pickle your own, a curious website called Egg Pub, offers a basic DIY recipe.



And for the very brave there’s also a spiced up version involving Scotch bonnet peppers.

Both Fabergé and pickled eggs are probably something of an acquired taste, but if offered a choice, I know which variety I’d go for.

Do you?

Easter curiosities

With many schools starting their Easter break today, I’m sure there are lots of eggs being bought and eaten. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast yesterday and one of the two eggs I cracked open had a double yoke – I’m sure this must be a lucky omen?

Did you know that the tradition of giving real, coloured and decorated eggs dates back over 2000 years? Eggs of the chocolate variety are a relatively recent phenomenon – in fact Cadburys produced their first chocolate egg less than 150 years ago in 1875.

In Ancient China, Greece and Persia, the egg was a symbol of new life and eggs were exchanged at a festival in celebration of the rites of spring. The goddess of spring, who rose from her winter sleep to fill the earth with new life was known as Eostre by the Anglo-Saxons and that’s where the word Easter originates from.



Eggs are often associated with birth – in France, brides still break an egg over the threshold of their new home to bring them good luck and healthy babies. To Christians, the egg became a symbol of Christ’s resurrection – or re-birth.

From the 14th century onwards, there are accounts of eggs being dyed and even covered with gold leaf for the royal household of Edward I. Later, eggs were handmade by specialist craftsmen using silver, gold, ivory and porcelain. Some were even encrusted with jewels – like the luxury Faberge eggs, the most opulent of which was sold in 1994 for $5.6 million. By the 18th century, papier-mache eggs were available as containers for small gifts and by the 19th century cardboard eggs became the fashion. These were covered with silk, lace, stylish velvet bows and ribbons.


If you’re curious to find some quirky and unusual gifts this Easter, ShopCurious is definitely the place to look for eggs. We’ve a seriously cute and highly individual hatching egg that’s an antique carved ivory curiosity from the Far East. Of course, you don’t have to be a Christian to celebrate the Easter holiday, or even be religious for that matter, but if you are we’ve also got a vintage ormolu-embellished mother of pearl ‘Souvenir de Lourdes’ containing a delicate mother of pearl and silver rosary.



These unique eggs are timeless in their appeal, as well as being collectable – they’d make a great investment and a much healthier option for an Easter gift than the common calorific variety. They’re certainly more original, though I don’t think Easter would be quite the same without a little bit of chocolate…

Do you?