Alexander Palace Forum

Discussions about the Imperial Family and European Royalty => Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna => Topic started by: Ortino on January 19, 2018, 10:06:52 PM

Title: Possessions of Elizabeth Fedorovna
Post by: Ortino on January 19, 2018, 10:06:52 PM

Hi everyone,

I couldn't find a thread relating to this topic and would appreciate any insight/thoughts. Does anyone know what happened to Ella and Sergei's possessions (paintings, furniture, objet d'art, etc.) after Ella became a nun? I recall reading that she sold them to fund her new convent, but if this is true, does anyone know where or when these sales took place? Do sales catalogues or related materials exist? Also, did anything go to Maria Pavlovna and Dmitri Pavlovich or other members of the family?

Title: Re: Possessions of Elizabeth Fedorovna
Post by: Bambi on January 20, 2018, 02:29:40 AM

Here is an interesting and charming little excerpt from the memoirs of Nicholas Pavlovich Sablin:

"When we once asked where the grand duchess [Elizaveta] got so many jewels, the grand duchesses told us that her late husband, the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, always returned with some gift [for her] after going into the city each day, and now having given up material life, the grand duchess gifted these jewels to her nieces. Olga Nikolaevna once got an especially beautiful piece - a diadem made from the branches of lily of the valley, and each little cup contained a diamond."

Source: Russia's Last Romanovs: In Their Own Words (2013) by Helen Azar and Dan and Eva McDonald. :)