An Egg at Easter

In 1971 the book ‘An Egg at Easter’ was published. It was the result of years of research and collecting by the folklorist Venetia Newall who won the Chicago Folklore prize for it. It is a wonderful volume detailing the traditions and meanings behind decorating eggs. 

The Pitt Rivers Museum has a significant collection of decorated eggs, mostly from Eastern Europe and a selection can be seen on display in the Lower Gallery. We were able to add to the collection of decorated Easter eggs in 2019 when John Newall, Venetia's husband contacted the Museum offering to donate Venetia’s collection to the Pitt Rivers Museum. Venetia Newall sadly died in 2017 but lived an interesting life. She researched and wrote on witchcraft and magic, folklore of birds and beasts and travelled extensively across Europe, America and Asia. In 1981 she founded the International Folklore Review and served as President and Vice President of the Folklore Society of England. Her contributions in this field cannot be underestimated. It is very fitting that her egg collection has found a home at the Pitt Rivers. As well as global collections the Museum has an eclectic holding of objects associated with folklore, magic and ritual. Several prominent figures in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum served as presidents of the Folklore society including Henry Balfour, first curator of the Museum and Pitt Rivers himself.

On a very hot summer’s day in 2019 we visited John Newall in London to view Venetia’s collection. We entered a sunny room with a cabinet containing many hundreds of eggs. The room also had framed molas from the San Blas Islands of Panama, and other pieces of art from around the world reflecting Venetia and John’s love of travel and collecting. Some of the eggs had a pungent smell, not all had been blown before being decorated. John recalled to us how Venetia’s egg collection had begun, on a trip to Prague for Easter in 1959:

“…To our amazement, the two women shown in the photo were confidently offering decorated eggs for sale in Wenceslas Square, right in the middle of the city. That was during the still ultra hard-line period, when private trade was absolutely not on. Anyway, we bought a few of their beautifully hand-decorated eggs, and that was the start of Venetia’s collection.”

Eggs have a long tradition of being decorated. They symbolise life, renewal and rebirth both in pagan times and for many Christians particularly during Easter. After having abstained from eating sweets and treats for lent children often indulge in chocolate eggs as a reward and chicken and duck eggs often featured during Easter feasts, though not so much today. Traditionally hard boiled eggs were dyed bright colours and used in Easter games such as egg rolling. In Christianity the rolling of the eggs down a hill symbolises the rolling away of the stones from Christ's tomb associated with his resurrection. The eggs in Venetia's collection show various methods of decoration. Traditional Ukrainian eggs were decorated using batik (wax resist) technique and included Christian designs: churches, crosses and fish for example and pagan designs representing symbols of fertility and creation: ears of wheat, tree of life, emblems of the sun. 

The British Museum have also acquired some of Venetia Newall’s vast collection. Some of the more interesting eggs were made by diaspora groups living away from home such as those made by the German wife of a Ukrainian living in the UK and those made by a Slovakian Czech from New York.

We have yet to have accessioned and catalogued the eggs we have acquired but look forward to doing so soon. Venetia Newall was an inspiring figure, and as well as having a passion for collecting and researching folklore traditions she cared very much for human rights and was a member of the Wolfenden Society, where she helped to facilitate reform of laws regarding LBGT rights in the UK. It really is a great honour for the Museum to have become custodian of the fantastic collection of decorated eggs she had got so much enjoyment from.  

Faye Belsey

Deputy head of Collections