Easter egg

Description

Easter eggs were dyed various shades of red, purple, brown, and yellow by wrapping the eggs in onionskins.  Some, like this one, drew upon European traditions for more embellishment by scratching lines into the coating using a sgraffito technique to reveal the white eggshell. Most regional Mid-Atlantic eggs were not blown out to hollow shells but hard-boiled so the egg could dry inside the shell. This example, which is dated 1850, is a rare survivor of the practice.