Icons on ostrich eggs inked with gold and silver leaf, in a unique exhibition at the Brukenthal Museum

On Friday, the Brukenthal National Museum will open the exhibition “In Search of Lost Paradise”, by the artist Mariana Andone Rotaru, where visitors have the opportunity to see icons on ostrich eggs, stamped with gold and silver leaf.

“The Tree of Life exhibition. In search of the lost Paradise, through the inked eggs and the eggs with inlaid decoration and gold leaf, impresses and sensitizes thanks to the mastery of the execution of the one who perfected the ennobling process, the artist Mariana Andone Rotaru. The unique icons are inspired by ancient Transylvanian icons painted on glass and reinterpreted on ostrich eggs by “writing” with successive color baths. For the creation of these original icons, heritage pieces, kept in different museum collections or private collections, were selected the right egg, and the drawing was made with melted beeswax with the help of a traditional pen. In most cases, the ovoid circumference was divided into two surfaces, the iconographic theme being framed on one of them. The decoration on the opposite side of the icon it is a unique creation, harmoniously developed in its own compositions, starting from the elements in the field of the represented source. The gilded elements were rendered with 24k gold leaf and silver leaf,” the Agerpres press release states.

The opening will take place on Friday, from 2:00 p.m., at the Brukenthal Palace in Piaţa Mare in Sibiu.

Mariana Andone Rotaru, however, proposes a unique way of decorating the ostrich egg, by combining two traditional crafts: penning/writing with wax on the ovoid surface and painting on the back of the glass according to works or models from museum collections or private collections, but taking into account the iconographic canons and the rigors of the Easter egg decoration technique.

Also, a number of ostrich eggs are decorated with traditional Romanian motifs. This novel approach in the transposition and reinterpretation of embroideries worked with great finesse is found on the surface of the egg. The beauty and value of traditional Romanian shirts are given by the combination of several stitching points and materials, an aspect that was captured in the creation of MaryAndo’s eggshell creations, using several archaic techniques.

Inking with successive color baths by protecting the background with wax, physico-chemical encrustation in eggshell, inking with relief wax and applying brightly colored beads. By applying the 24k gold and silver leaf to the inlaid decorations, the sequins and metallic thread on the fountain were suggested.

Mariana Andone Rotaru, born in the Republic of Moldova, is part of the first generation of Bessarabian students who came to study in Romania. He has held numerous exhibitions and MaryAndo fior d’or is a registered trademark of OSIM.

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