Family Possesions

[Robley]

In Greg and Pennys fabulous book, theres  quite a long list of family possesions that were confiscated (after the execution) at the Ipatiev House.... Many articles of clothing,small pieces of household goods etc.

Where are these things now??

[Maria_Romanov_fan]

Hmm...
Probably stolen by guards...  

[Robley]

Yes...probably. Thanks for your response!

[La_Mashka]

Some of these possesions were in trunks and they were sent to England, where GD Ksenia received them, and apparently burned all the clothes...

[Ortino]

Most likely stolen by guards, sold on the black markets, or sent to other places.

[Mgmstl]

Xenia Alexandrovna received these boxes in London, and they were opened at Buckingham Palace in the presence of the King & Queen.  She found nothing of value at FIRST, then later burned all of the clothing.

Sophie Buxhoeveden, wrote to Xenia to ask her if she retrieved the jewels that were in one of the boxes hidden in some clothes.  Buxhoeveden gave her the exact location of the jewels in the box, Xenia went back to the box and found the jewels.

The type of jewels, their value, and shape are not listed, nor a provenance of any of the jewels, nor is there a list of what Xenia receieved in those boxes.

I am not sure what of their personal property made it back to England..

[Robley]

Burned?!

Many thanks to all..........appreciate the responses!


The personal items such as gloves and shoes and shirts seem to hold alot of interest for me. They seem to be more personal than jewels or art etc.

Im  a new scholar of The Romanovs ,and love this forum so much! You all have given me much information  and many answers to many questions.

Im now of the understanding that The Tzar was anti-semetic? Is that the case? (sorry to be off topic!)

[Elisabeth]

Fascinating question! Many of the family's less valuable possessions (e.g., clothing, linens) seem to have become scattered during the confusion of the Civil War. We know that many (perhaps most) of these items were catalogued by Yurovsky and presumably sent by train towards Moscow (along with the family's gold, silver, and jewels). If they ever reached their destination, they may well have been divided up among Bolshevik party bigwigs and their families.

Other items were undoubtedly stolen by the guards on the spot. But at least some of these less valuable items ended up in Perm, according to later White investigations. They interviewed at least one woman who had helped herself to some imperial napkins.

In answer to your other question, there's an entire, very lengthy thread dealing with the Romanovs and anti-Semitism - not sure where it is now: try a search. It may be under the "Imperial Family" section or in "Imperial History."  

[Mgmstl]

You will also find the information on the crates being opened by Xenia and her subsequent finding of the jewels that were written about by Sophia Buxhoeveden in FOTR, by Greg King & Penny Wilson.  Page 372.

"The items were investigated, checked, and found to contain items of little material interest."  "Only later after receiving information from Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, (Xenia) found some of Empress Alexandra's jewels in a rolled up cloth, packed between  that had belonged to Countess Hendrikova."

No mention is made of the amount, type, and value of the jewels found in the Ipatiev House by the Baroness and packed to send to Xenia & Empress Marie.

[hikaru]

I know that the clothing, small pieces , photo from Winter palace were transfered to the " Lenfilm" -
Leningrad Cinema Factory , which were used for a lot as
requisit for making historic cinema.
I saw a lot of this closing in the beginning of the 90th.-
they were not in use , they were in the separate closed room and they were very dirty . - It was the dressed from the Catherine's time.
I heard that the closing were closed and did  not used from 60th.
I have no idea where they now, but I think that they were sold out. Maybe I am wrong.

[Elisabeth]

That's really interesting, Hikaru. I had no idea they used some of the family's clothing from the Winter Palace as costumes for films. But I thought some of Alexandra's court dresses from the Winter Palace were saved and are now on display somewhere?  The Hermitage, I think?

[hikaru]

Yes, of course, some of Alexandra Court Dresses are in the Hermitage collection.
Others we could see in the historical films made by "Lenfilm" in the 30th.

Others from Alexandr Palace  were given to the staff of the "Detskoe Selo" museums in the form of the salary.

[Mgmstl]

Elisabeth, I believe many of Alexandra's court gowns are in preserved, I was actually suprised that any of them survived.  I am sure that many things went by the wayside during the original looting of the palace, but
I remember reading in FOTR about Nicholas complaining to the commandant of the Ipatiev House about items being stolen, and trunks missing from the storeroom, so looting did happen.  Think about all of the things that didn't make it to Ekaterinburg, or Tobolsk that may have been confiscated or stolen.

[PrinceXander]

It literally makes me sick to my stomach. . to think of all of our familys possessions scatterd out into creation . with no reguards for importance whatsoever. . and the looting of the palace as well as the ipatiev house. . just senseless stealing. .  not knowing the value of simple everyday items. . if only we knew where just a few of thease items are today. . if only the people who probibly still have them in their possession. . will let them go.  . and give them up to people who would appreciate them like they deserve to be. . .

[EmmyLee]

Burned?! The personal items such as gloves and shoes and shirts seem to hold alot of interest for me. They seem to be more personal than jewels or art etc.

I agree. I would have loved to see those clothes as they would mean more to me than the jewels. Any idea why Xenia burned them? Perhaps it was too painful, but why not keep them as a memento?