Empress Alexandra's Sautoir of Pearls

[Pranter]

Is it known what happened to this necklace? I found this snippet about it:

...The most fabulous engagement present was a sautoir of pearls from her future father-in-law, Tsar Alexander III, hand-crafted by Faberge and worth 250,000 roubles (Alexander Bokhanov, The Romanovs, Love Power and Tragedy, 72). ......


But I can find anything about it otherwise..a few pics of it but that's it.



LaRae

 

[Alyend]

Sorry, but if the father-in-law is Alexander III I think the lady who received the gift is empress Marie Feodorovna, not empress Alexandra.

 

[ldmemail]

Sorry, but if the father-in-law is Alexander III I think the lady who received the gift is empress Marie Feodorovna, not empress Alexandra.

No Tsar Alexander II was the father in law of the Empress Marie Feodorovna.
Tsar Alexander III was indeed the donor of the beautiful pearl sautoir. Source ‘Nicholas & Alexandra ‘by Robert K. Massie.

 

[Pranter]

There are pics out there of the Empress wearing the pearls. Regardless where she got them..I'm trying to find out if we know what happened to them.


LaRae

 

[ldmemail]

There are pics out there of the Empress wearing the pearls. Regardless where she got them..I'm trying to find out if we know what happened to them.


LaRae

As with the bulk of the Empress’s jewels, the Bolsheviks disposed of them.

 

[Pranter]

Ok I wonder why then there's nothing (I've found) to say that...generally with a specific piece like this it's stated somewhere.


LaRae

 

[Curryong]

I've read that a cache of hidden jewels, Alexandra's personal jewellery, was found in the 1930s and the Soviet Government confiscated it all. However the pearl sautoir may well have disappeared much earlier, perhaps during the revolution.

Maybe some of the pearls were sewn into Alexandra's corsets and those of her daughters during those early weeks of captivity. It's impossible to trace most of the gems the Imperial Family had with them during those last months. No record exists. Unfortunately if there's no record of a famous piece of jewellery turning up post 1918 then it's likely the Bolsheviks snaffled it.

There is a book 'Peter Carl Faberge: An Illustrated Record and Review of His Life and Work' by Henry Bainbridge, that was published in the late 1940s. It's supposed to be a comprehensive record of the works of Faberge, and libraries may have it.

 

[Pranter]

I had seen where Faberge is who made the Sautoir ..I just didn't figure he/they would know the disposition. I saw a couple lists of jewels etc that had been gotten out by servant(s) and what was put on display after or during the Revolution. I was just hoping perhaps it had turned up on another list somewhere but yeah it's most likely to have been either destroyed, taken apart and sold etc by the revolutionaries after their execution...since the necklace was a supposed favorite of hers I figure she would of had it with her.


LaRae