Estate Auctions Inc. is offering a rare opportunity to own a unique and very hard to find Kremlin Service Plate. "We continue to be astonished at the rare unique items that come through our doors. Our clients appreciate the out of the ordinary and quirky items and this plate certainly falls into that category." says Norb Novocin, Owner of Estate Auctions Inc. of Delaware.

After much research Mr. Novocin discovered that a set of 12 plates, which matches this single plate currently listed on eBay, sold at Sotheby's in 2004 for $78,000. Again in 2008, a set of 6 sold for $34,000. A single plate available outside of a high end auction house is very rare but for the opening bid to be less than a dollar... you may never see that again.

The plate is from a service that was commissioned for use in the Great Kremlin Palace, the official Moscow residence for the Imperial family, when the process of renovating, and ultimately rebuilding, the palace began in 1837. The task of designing the new service fell to the talented student and future professor of the Academy of Arts Fedor Solntsev, who had been studying and recording Russian antiquities. He drew upon 17th century metalwork as a model; in the case of this plate, the source was a sumptuous gold plate made for Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich by masters of the Moscow Kremlin Armory in 1667. See Tamara Kudriavtseva, Russian Imperial Porcelain, St. Petersburg, 2003, pp. 130-132.

The auction closes Monday, June 18th at approximately 10:00 PM EST. Interest in this rare and historic plate continues to increase as the closing draws near.

© SFGate. 17 June, 2012

The investigation into one of the worst crimes of the 20^th century, lasted nearly a century. Between 1918 and 2011, a series of investigations into the murders of Emperor Nicholas II and his family took place in Russia. This is the subject of an exhibition which recently opened in the Exhibition Hall of the Federal Archives in Moscow.

The exhibition offers a comprehensive look into the last months of the Russian Imperial family at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, their murders by the Bolsheviks, the  investigations into their deaths, and the search and identification of their remains many years later. This unique exhibit explores the difficulties, confusion and contradictions which have plagued researchers into the Ekaterinburg tragedy for decades.

The following video offers a summary of the exhibition. Click on the link below which provides a short article, as well as another video and more than 40 additional photograph from the exhibition. The exhibit runs until July 29th in the Exhibition Hall of the Federal Archives which is located at ul. B. Pirogovskaya, 17 in Moscow. Admission is free!

||| Click Here to View More Than 40 Photos from the Exhibit |||

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 16 June, 2012

From 1505 to 1689, Russia’s tsars chose their wives through an elaborate ritual: the bride-show. The realm’s most beautiful young maidens—provided they hailed from the aristocracy—gathered in Moscow, where the tsar’s trusted boyars reviewed their medical histories, evaluated their spiritual qualities, noted their physical appearances, and confirmed their virtue. Those who passed muster were presented to the tsar, who inspected the candidates one by one—usually without speaking to any of them—and chose one to be immediately escorted to the Kremlin to prepare for her wedding and new life as the tsar’s consort.

Alongside accounts of sordid boyar plots against brides, the multiple marriages of Ivan the Terrible, and the fascinating spectacle of the bride-show ritual, A Bride for the Tsar offers an analysis of the show’s role in the complex politics of royal marriage in early modern Russia. Russell E. Martin argues that the nature of the rituals surrounding the selection of a bride for the tsar tells us much about the extent of his power, revealing it to be limited and collaborative, not autocratic. Extracting the bride-show from relative obscurity, Martin persuasively establishes it as an essential element of the tsarist political system.

A Bride for the Tsar: Bride-Shows and Marriage Politics in Early Modern Russia is published by Northern Illinois University Press.

Russell E. Martin is professor of history at Westminster College and codirector of the Muscovite Biographical Database in Moscow.

© Northern Illinois University Press. 15 June, 2012

Russia’s new culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky has proposed the changing the name of two streets in Moscow in honour of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition Russia in the Holy Land, which marks the 130th anniversary of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in Moscow, he said that the names of the Romanov family members “should replace the names of terrorists and murderers.”

Medinsky believes that changing the names of these streets will help educate the citizens of Moscow about two members of the Romanov dynasty, each of whom made a major contribution to the history of the city and its inhabitants.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich - the son of Emperor Alexander II, from 1891 was the military governor-general of Moscow. He headed the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, was the honorary chairman of the Russian Historical Museum, and a trustee of the Moscow Theological Academy. He was assassinated by terrorists on February 17, 1905. His remains were exhumed in 1995 and reburied in a vault of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow.

A highlight of Webb's 20 June Fine Jewellery sale will be the exquisite Imperial Period Faberge box which was brought into Webb's last month by a Vendor who was unaware of the item's significance. The item, among others, was consigned to Webb's weekly affordable sale - where low value collectible items are sold at little or no reserve.

The discovery, by Webb's Head of Antiques, James Hogan and Jewellery specialist Chris Devereux caused much excitement, not least for the Vendor!

As Chris Devereaux states; "such pieces appear in the market only very rarely, and are highly sought after, it is anticipated to gain the interest of collectors and connoisseurs both nationally and internationally and I estimate it will sell for between $10,000 - $20,000, if not more"

The exquisite late Imperial Faberge Box is made from panels of lapis lazuli framed in yellow gold, the lid is engraved crystal bordered by seed pearls and the thumb-piece set with diamonds. In Cyrillic script, an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD, it bears the marks for Faberge, the mark for workmaster Henrik Wigstrom, and a mark for St. Petersburg 1908-1917, 56 zolotniks (14ct) together with a further scratched inventory number 20203.

The fabulous jewels and objects of virtue created by the workshops of Peter Carl Faberge are some of the most desired and collectable items in the world. The reason is two-fold: firstly they demonstrate a level of craftsmanship that is unrivalled, and secondly the history of Faberge is intimately and forever linked with the romance surrounding the splendour of the Russian Imperial court.

© Voxy.co.nz. 13 June, 2012

Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark was born on March 3^rd, 1876 at Athens, Greece. She was the fifth child and second daughter of King George I of Greece and his consort, Queen Olga, (née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia). Marie was the granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I, niece of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, and first cousin and confidant of Tsar Nicholas II.

On 30 April 1900, Marie married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. After her marriage, she took the name Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna. Together, they had two daughters: Princess Nina Georgievna (1901-1974), and Princess Xenia Georgievna (1903-1965).

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, was the third son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (née Princess Cecilie of Baden). He was also a first cousin to Emperor Alexander III. He served as a General in the Russian Army during the First World War. During the Russian Revolution, he was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and shot by a firing squad in 1919, along with his brother, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and his cousins Grand Dukes Paul Alexandrovich and Dimitri Konstantinovich.

The Grand Duchess spent most of her life abroad: Russia, England, Italy—and on her return to Greece in 1940, she vowed never again to be driven into exile. During the Second World War, as the German army advanced on Athens and the Royal Family prepared to flee, Grand Duchess Marie passed away in 1940, at the age of 64.

Given her position in life, her travels, and the personal tragedies that she endured during her lifetime, she was to bear witness to some of the world’s most monumental historical events, and writes of them with skill and candor in her memoirs.

A Romanov Diary spans 50-years in the life of Royal Europe (1884-1934) during one of the most turbulent periods of history. In her memoirs, Grand Duchess Marie writes of emperors, kings, queens and royal cousins in their everyday private lives, as well as their intricate relationships which determined the course of history.

Some of the most compelling portions of A Romanov Diary are the letters written by her husband, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, from prison after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. These letters were smuggled from prison, and detail events up to shortly before the Grand Duke’s murder in 1919. Grand Duchess Marie has set forth extensive portions of these letters, and the last days of the Romanov dynasty come alive.

After being out of print for nearly 20 years, a new edition of A Romanov Diary: The Autobiography of the Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna has been published by Gilbert’s Books, the publishing division of Royal Russia.

|||Click Here to Order Your Copy |||

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 12 June, 2012

On Friday, June 8th, a bronze bust of Emperor Nicholas II was installed at the city of Taormina, a small town on the east coast of Sicily in Italy.

The event was organized by the International Cultural Foundation of Russia and marks an official visit of the Russian emperor to Taormina in the late 19th century. 

The bust of the last tsar rests on a column made of red marble in the Giovanni Colonna Duca di Cesaro public gardens in Taormina.

The ceremony was attended by members of military and civilian authorities of Russia and Italy, and received the blessing of two bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. This was followed by an outdoor concert performed by the student orchestra of the Navy of the Russian Federation and the local Plectrucm Orchestra of Taormina.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 12 June, 2012

An auction at Olivier Coutau-Bégarie in Paris, will offer more than 400 lots on June 18th, 2012.  Many items on the Romanovs are  going under the hammer, including photographs, letters, Faberge, icons, paintings, silverware, Imperial porcelain, military memorabilia and more.

One of the most unique items offered is a set of 48 colour polychrome plates of the Alexander Palace interiors. These extremely rare images show the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their children. Taken in 1914, they allow us a rare glimpse into the home of the last Russian Imperial family while they were still in residence at the palace. They have been listed at between €3,000-5,000.

||| Click Here to View a Copy of the Catalogue |||

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 11 June, 2012

Public quarters in St Petersburg, Russia’s former Imperial capital, held a number of functions Saturday to mark the 340th anniversary since the birth of the city’s founder, Russian Tsar Peter I, who is also known in history as Peter the Great, ITAR-TASS reports.
 
To pay tribute to the tsar, who is broadly viewed as one of the greatest reformers in Russian history, flowers were laid at various sites commemorating him across the city territory, including the bust at his tomb in the Imperial Vault of the St Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, the Bronze Horseman on Senate Square, the bust at Moskovsky railway station, and the monument to the Czar-Carpenter on the Admiralty embankment.
 
Also taking part in the ceremonies were members of the Preobrazhensky Leib-Guard Regiment military history club, performers from the city’s numerous theaters, the choir and the orchestra of the St Petersburg Court Capella.
 
The traditional noon cannon shot at the St Peter and Paul’s fortress was dedicated to Peter I. It was carried out by members of the Congress of Tsar Peter’s cities – St Petersburg, Moscow, Azov, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Murom, Omsk, Petrozasvodsk, and others.
 
In the evening, the Capella hosted a gala concert. The choir of State Singers Choir, instituted by Peter I, turned overtime into the Imperial Court Capella. Friday night, all the works included in the program were dedicated to Peter I.
 
St Petersburg started celebrating the tsar’s birthday as an official holiday seven years ago.

© Russkiy Mir. 10 June, 2012

Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky told radio listeners Saturday that Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin should be laid to rest and his mausoleum turned into a museum.

"I have always thought that his body should be returned to the earth. I would observe all the essential rituals," the minister told Ekho Moskvy host Ksenia Larina on air.

"Since he was a senior public figure, if the decision were made, the burial should be accompanied by all the appropriate state rituals, distinctions and a military salute, in a worthy place."

But leaving Lenin's body in a state of "suspension" was "absurd," he said.

As a museum, the mausoleum would be a popular tourist destination, and tickets could be expensive, he added.

Medinsky explained that a decision had not been taken on the matter earlier because the burial would have cost the authorities votes in the elections.

Popular support for burying the founding Soviet leader has been on the rise, though it still stands at just over half the population. A poll in mid-April by the Public Opinion Foundation, or FOM, found that 56 percent of Russians were in favor, versus 46 percent six years ago. In the April poll, 28 percent of respondents said Lenin should remain in his mausoleum on Red Square.

Lenin's embalmed body, treated by highly-trained specialists to prevent decomposition, was interred in a mausoleum in the center of Red Square shortly after his death in 1924. Encased in glass and covered to the waist with a blanket, Lenin's body is still on display for members of the public, who shuffle through a dark underground chamber in the mausoleum illuminated by dim red-tinged lights.

© The Moscow Times. 10 June, 2012