Ukrainian easter eggs, known as "pysanka," are elaborately decorated folk art items that put American easter eggs to shame. You might even say they belong in a museum, which makes it convenient that there is finally a museum devoted just to them.
Pysanka decorating is one of the most interesting expressions of Ukrainian folk art. This tradition is very old and its beginnings reach back to antiquity, when in attempting to understand creation, ancient people developed myths that the egg was perceived as the source of life, the sun, and the universe. The more modern practice is still done using a system of wax decoration and dyes that produce almost impossibly intricate patterns and designs on the surface of the egg.
The museum, which is fronted with a giant pysanka, in which a portion of the collection is held, boasts a collection of over 10,000 pysanka, some of them dating back over 100 years. Some are hung decoratively while others are under glass, but all of them are beautifully intricate. While most of the eggs have a folk design of some sort, others are adorned with minareted palaces
The tradition of dying easter eggs is something usually reserved for children in America, but thanks to this eggcellent museum, we get to see what it looks like when generations of artisans try their hand at it.