The Imperial Court, Culture and Art

[matryoshka]

I just read an excellent book on Russian history that I recommend highly to anyone who wants to learn a non-western persecutive on Catherine and Paul etc... It's called "The Third Rome: Holy Russia, Tsarism and Orthodoxy" by Matthew Raphael Johnson . There are many misguided myths about Russia that continue to this day, including those about Catherine and Paul. Everyone should read this book to learn the truth.

[Toledo]

A good place to look at historical paintings of the Russian Grand Dukes and other members of the aristocracy, they are in alphabetical order. This way you know the names to make it easier to track down current survivors of these princely families.

Biographies, Lineages and Portraits of Russian Nobilities

And another must-take-a-look section in World Roots is the Russian Royal Links:
Historic and genealogical information about royal and nobility family lines

[Toledo]

One of it's members was profiled recently in (the weekly magazine) Point de Vue. Maybe about a month ago. She spoke about her family in exile and her return to Russia to create a foundation to restore the incredible Stroganoff Palace in Saint Petersburg. I don't know if anyone here has access to that article but the Strogannoff lady had quite a life that involved celebrities in the 1950's.

The Princes Gagarin site

[jacksoncorners]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this site and searching for a Russian King Rogatschewskij. Has anyone ever heard of him or can lead me in the right direction? Thank you for any help.

Bob

[flcty]

Princess Olga Romanoff (as spelt on the t.v. screen) and her son, Fran Mathew, was on Australian Princess (the episode that just aired tonight in Australia, Channel 10). They were guests to a dinner party hosted by Paul Burrell and Jean Broke-Smith.
Princess Olga introduced herself as "the great-great grandaughter of Tsar Alexander III" and "great grand niece of Tsar Nicholas II".
On the show the four (remaining) contestants had to make a speech. As Olga asked each one to come up and make their speech (at the dinner party) her son (reflected in private, in the diary room) said that the speech made by Leanne was, quote..."absolute crap".
Other guests included:
James Whitaker (Royal correspondent for the UK Daily Mirror).
Prince Michael (Head [or soon to be head] of an important Polish noble family).
James Benton Jones (Jamie is the eldest son of Sir Simon and Lady Benton Jones and will one day inherit the title of Baronet and the majestic estate of Irnham Hall).
Edward Saxby (Knows all about aristocracy having grown up on estates in Scotland and France. He resides in London and is a member of the exclusive Chelsea “party set”. I think he was the beau whose mother was born in France).

[limbo9]

Hi.

I came across an old photo postcard. Looks like it could be one of the Romanovs, any ideas?

Thank you!

[Toledo]

This link is about the book plates used by the Romanovs for their books, but it also has other historical bookplate drawings for several other dynasties.
Enjoy House of Romanov

And now I really got to leave, it's 12:50 AM and we have a giant snowstorm right outside that I'm debating to go out and photograph!
Most of our state will be paralized in the morning due to snow and ice so everybody in my office plans to stay home.

[kelausha]

Originally Posted by limbo9

Hi.

I came across an old photo postcard. Looks like it could be one of the Romanovs, any ideas?

Thank you!

No, I dont think it's one of the Romanovs, but maybe a Russian noble.

[catherina]

Hi Forum

I recently acquired this perfume bottle and after researching a little on the internet I found out it could have belonged Maria Feodorovna. The condition is as shown.

After finding other pieces which were known to have been bought by Maria Feodorovna from 12 rue de la paix during exhaustive research on the internet (silver picture frames) I'm quite convinced that it is her monogram. The hallmarks date the piece to 1882, just one year before she was crowned Empress Consort of Russia in 1883.

The house where the piece came from was in St. Gallen Switzerland. One 'expert' told me that it was impossible it belonged to her because of the type of crown. I noticed, however, that the same monogram appears on a handbag reputedly owned by Maria Feodorovna which was sold at auction.

I would appreciate any help or comments or leads which could support one way or another.

Thanks and best regards

c.

[IMG]file:///Users/work/Desktop/silver_perfume_MF/silver_perfume_MF_01.jpg[/IMG]

[Warren]

It's a lovely piece, but my observation is that the 'crown' is actually in the style of a coronet rather than the Russian Imperial Crown.

[catherina]

Hi Warren

Thanks for your reply - I trust your expertise when it comes to the coronet I did a bit more research and found out (I think) that she would no longer have been referred to as a Princess (of Denmark) because she was already married to Alexander III and in Russia (???), she and her husband would have been Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in 1882, a year before their coronation. Do you (or anybody else) know what the appropriate heraldic coronet would have been for a Grand Duchess of Russia? It's so difficult to find anything to do with Russian Heraldics ;(

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Catherina,

In 1882, Alexander and Maria Feodorovna would have been Emperor and Empress of Russia.
Alexander III succeeded to the Throne in March 1881 on the assassination of his father, Alexander II.
Their coronation would have taken place in 1882 except for the fact that the Empress was pregnant with Olga. Thus, the delay to 1883.

Although I'm certainly no expert, I'd guess that your coronet would be for an Empress in 1882... But, I hasten to add that I know nothing about this subject and defer to anyone who does know....

Larry

[Lemon Lyman]

Wasn't sure where to post this - sorry mods.

I went to see an exhibition on the ceremonial dress of the Tsars from Peter II through to the last Tsar - Nicholas II. It was fantastic great insight to their lives. Some fantastic snuff boxes, buckles, bath boxes and swords as well.

Some of the clothes are faded and you can't see the vibrantsy of the colours - but the gold is amazing.

Well worth a visit

Magnificence of the Tsars - Victoria and Albert Museum

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

I went to see the exhibition today - Magnificence of the Tsars - V and A Museum.

Very enjoyable

[CarolinaLandgrave]

What a wonderful picture!
Are there others like this? Should I assume this is a wedding picture, rather than a some other court occasion?

Also, is this Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna - the late Princess Nicholas of Greece??

Originally Posted by SaxeundGotha

Here are a couple of examples of those Grand-Duchess-Brides in their purple bridal mantles:


The above pictures are from the Webshots.com comunity. The b&w photographs are over 70 years old, copyright has expired.

[Grace Angel]

Yes, that's her, it's been a month since you posted, so hope this info was new to you. There are also some photos of her with her husband on her wedding day.

[Marsel]

A thread to post general news and reports connected to the Imperial Family.


Christie's offers a sale of pieces of art connected to the Imperial Family from the famous Galerie Popoff

Christie’s announced the auction of Galerie Popoff - An Enduring Passion for Russian Art which will take place on 12 and 13 October 2009 in London, and which will present exceptional Russian works of art from one of the most renowned Russian galleries in Paris. The auction will offer around 550 lots including rare Russian and European 18th century and 19th century porcelain, watercolours, paintings, works of art and textiles. Many pieces of art, among them pieces ordered by Catherine the Great, Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (future Paul I), Empress Maria Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
One of the highlights of the auction is part of a porcelain service made by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory in 1778 for Grand Duke Paul Petrovich: it is estimated to be sold for £200,000- 300,000. The service was a gift from Emperor Frederick II of Prussia and all the pieces feature the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and the arms Hollstein-Gottorp.

Another important lot is the Orlov Service, commissioned by Catherine the Great in 1765-1766 for Count Grigoriy Orlov. Each piece is decorated with the interlaced ГГО (GGO - Grigoriy Grigoryevich Orlov) and features trophies and scenes referring to Orlov's military career. It is estimated at up to £100,000.

[queenofthelight]

Courtesy of Belga.

Crucifix and an icon of St Matthew the Apostle on display at Dom Ikony [The Home of the Icon] Museum during an exhibition of treasures and heirlooms of Tzar Nicholas II's family that have been purchased from the Netherlands and brought back to Russia by former Transneft top manager Vozyakov. Among the exhibits are ancient church banners showing icons of Our Lady of Kazan and St Alexander Nevsky (18/09/2009).

http://i33.tinypic.com/bimp9d.jpg
http://i35.tinypic.com/344ccug.jpg

BelgaPicture - Category details

[Marsel]

Thanks for the information and pictures, queenofthelight!
The Holy Icons were indeed some of the most treasured possessions of the Imperil Family.

The pieces of art, porcelain, jewellery and textiles from Galerie Popoff that are to be auctioned at Christies next month were today introduced in Moscow

I had the pleasure of attending the presentation, which took place in Bolshoi Theatre's atrium: it was quite magnificent. You can see a small video from presentation here (the link is accompanied by an article in Russian).

Here is the translation of what Alexis de Tiesenhausen, International Head of Russian Art, says in the video:
"I have never even held anything like this for the past 25 years. For example, the cup and saucer made for Catherine the Great’s coronation.* Cup and saucer made in the Imperial Porcelain Factory for Nicholas II. The cup made for Emperor Paul I: it is a great rarity because if you look carefully, you will see the Maltese Cross inside**.

A bit of additional information on the items mentioned by Alexis de Tiesenhausen:

* The cup and saucer were made to celebrate the coronation of Catherine the Great in 1762. They were made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg. These pieces of porcelain are unique because they are thought to be the only surviving pieces from the special set made at the Imperial Factory. This lot is unique because the cover is crowned with the two headed Imperial Eagle: no other similar lot exists even in the best and most prestigious collections. It is estimated to be sold for £150,000-170,000.

** The Cup was also made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory by a special order from Paul I. The decorations, including the Maltese cross, where his design.

*** At the very end of the video, one of the highlights of the auction is shown: the part of a porcelain service made for Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (future Paul I). The service was commissioned by Emperor Frederick II of Prussia and was made at the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory in 1778. All the pieces featured the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire and the Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Hollstein-Gottorp (Pauls' patriarchal Arms).

The auction will also include other pieces connected with the Imperial Family. Here are details on some of them:

- Many pieces of porcelain ordered by Catherine the Great, Grand Duke Paul (Paul I), Empress Maria Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The collection includes a great variety, from pieces that will start at £2,000, to the aforementioned Paul I service, which is estimated to take some £200,000- 300,000.

- The gorgeous Orlov Service commissioned by Catherine the Great and made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in 1763 for Count Grigoriy Grigorevich Orlov. The sale will include 3 plates from the Orlov service: each piece is decorated with interlaced Cyrillic ГГО (GGO - Grigoriy Grigorevich Orlov) and features scenes and trophies from Orlov's military career. It is estimated to be sold for £80,000-100,000.

- A great range of magnificent Russian watercolours by some of the most prominent Russian artists of the early 19th century, including Alexander and Karl Briullov, Piotr Sokolov, Alexei Venetsianov and Vladimir and Edward Hau. The watercolours from Popoff collection are truly exceptional because of their quality and because of the people depicted on them. One of the watercolours portrays Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina, the wife of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. It is the only portrait in private collection and is estimated to take £120,000-160,000.

Another highlight is the portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna by Piotr Sokolov: it is widely considered to be one of Sokolov's best works and is estimated to be sold for £100,000 -150,000. There is also a portrait of Giovanina Pacini, daughter of Countess Julia Samoilova (the richest woman in the Russian Empire) by Karl Briullov. Giovanina was Karl's model on a number of occasions and they were said to be romantically involved with each other, until Giovanina's family put stop to it. Its estimate is £100,000-120,000.

- Wonderful works of Russian art and textiles, including splendid kokoshniks, sarafans and scarves. They are estimated from £1,400 to £12,000.

- A commemorative gold medal of the All-Russia Industrial and Art Exhibition held in 1896 in Nizhniy Novgorod. On one side, the medal shows the profile of Nicholas II. The other side depicts the city-shape of Nizhniy Novgorod and Mother Russia. It is estimated to be sold for £8,000-12,000.

- Another highlight of the collection is Auguste Montferrand’s delicately drawn study for the monument of Nicholas I in St Isaac’s Square. It will be sold with Montferrand’s other original drawings of the structure and the sculpture of the monument. It is estimated to take £70,000-100,000. Montferrand is the architect of two of St Petersburg's most distinguished squares - the Palace Square and St. Isaac's Square.

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by queenofthelight

... [snipped] BelgaPicture - Category details

Thanks for the information! Holy Icons are true masterpieces. It is nice to see rich Russians returning some of Holy relics to Russia.