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Pysanka at The Ukrainian Museum
(Permanent collection)
The Ukrainian Easter egg, Pysanka,
signals spring at The Ukrainian Museum where the glorious
colors emerge with the unpacking of pysanky,
in preparation for this annual exhibition.
Featured in the Pysanka
exhibition are hundreds of beautifully decorated,
traditional pysanky, representing various regions
of Ukraine.
The egg, because of its life-giving
capacity, was a mystery to the ancients and the source of
their many myths. It was used in worship and considered a
symbol of the sun and the universe. The ancient
people believed that the egg itself possessed great
mystical power. When they decorated it with symbolic
designs and colors, in a specific, prescribed manner, it
assumed additional power as a protector against
evil. With the advent of Christianity in Ukraine in the
tenth century, the decorated egg, pysanka, became a
part of their Easter tradition.
The ornamentation on the pysanka
consists mainly of geometric motifs, with some plant and
animal elements. An important motif is the stylized symbol
of the sun, seen as a triangle, a star, or an eight-point
rosette. Other popular motifs are endless lines. Similar
motifs that transcend regional boundaries are believed to
be the oldest. Elements such as the cross, church and fish
were introduced with the Christian influence.
Pysanky are traditionally decorated
with the wax resist method. Symbols are drawn on the egg
with melted wax using a kistka - a special writing
instrument. The egg is then dipped in the desired dye,
from the lightest to the darkest. After a succession of
dyes, the wax is melted off on the flame of a candle.
Due to the egg's fragility, there are
no surviving examples of the earliest pysanky. But
the strong tradition of decorating eggs has remained with
the Ukrainian people to this day.
The Museum Gift Shop features
beautifully decorated eggs for sale, as well as kits to
decorate the eggs.
Ukrainian Museum
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