Object of the Month: April 2026

• Chosen by: Rex Wale, Collections Access Officer
• Collection: World Arts
• Object name: Decorated Eggs
• Material: Eggshell, dyes
• Credit: Gift of Mrs. M. Janowska
• Date: 1982

The tradition of decorating eggs to mark the arrival of spring or celebrate Easter can be found in many countries.
Each country has their own names for this tradition, for example: Ukrainian pysanky, Polish pisanki, Czech and Slovak kraslice, and Croatian pisance.

They are commonly made using hot wax to carefully draw onto the shell before dipping the egg into colourful dyes. The wax protects areas from being stained with colour, and when carefully removed, reveals intricate designs. Repeated applications of wax and dye allow for a wide variety of layered, multi-coloured patterns.

These 11 decorated eggs are from Poland.

The Object of the Month can be seen in person throughout April 2026 at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.