Romanov Items/Souvenirs that You Own

[Forum Admin]

We just found and bought an 18th century cross from the collection the Alexandra had pinned to the alcove in her prayer/passage along side the apse in the lower church of the Fydorovsky.  It had been sold in the Hammer Galleries in the sales across the USA in 1935.  They attached a silver chain to it from 1750 that came from the chapel in the Imperial bedroom at the AP.  The cross and chain came with all the documents from the 30's.  We found it on Ebay and were able to buy it fpor a great price, the sellar had a 'buy it now' option which was expensive but not too bad.  I had to have it.

That makes three things we have that were Alix's or given by her - a paperknife in birch with inlaid gold and silver, this cross and chain, and a small ikon of St. Serafim of Sarov that Alix handed out personally to troops in WWI. We have a fragment of material from the Mauve Room, some Alexander Palace plates, a big silver spoon presented at Christmas by Empress Marie to one of her servants - stuff like that.

Also, I have a large amount of soil from the grave in Yekaterinburg that Avdonin gave me in 1997 when I went there.

Bob

[griffh]

How wonderful that such a precious object should have found it's way back to someone who more than all others,contibuted to restoring the honor and dignity of the late Empress, Alexandra Feodorovna, not to mention the actual restoration work on her precious family home, Alexander Palace in Tzarskoe Celo.   

I am also grateful, as I am sure others that have contributed to this thread are too, that the documentation for the items purchased on ebay was mentioned as that helps to give such important context to the authenticity issues that have come up and it also helps collectors to know the kind of questions that they need to ask when contemplating a purchase. 

To me the newly aquired cross shows one that there is an invisible, yet tangible, hand which continues to govern things.  At least that is the way it seems to me and it reminds me of a story a curator told me durng the time I had an informal connection with the costume dept of the Met Mus in NYC.

He said that the Museum had recieved an 18th century gown that had been restyled into an 1870's bustle gown.  Very few of the staff at the Met believed that the gown was originally an panier gown from the 18th century.  So to prove it and becasue the gown's skirt had not been cut but merely repleated into a bustle, the curator was given permission to have the skirt carefully picked apart.  He then had the fabric pinned loosely over a manakin wearing the poper 18th century undergarments including a panier hoop.  To the amazement of everyone, the fabric gradually began to fold itself back into its original shape.  Once it the fabric was free it began to remember its original state. 

I have never forgotten that story and to me it meant that Love always guides its creation home again and as sentimental and questionable as my reasoning is, this is what I feel happened on ebay yesterday.....happy home coming....griff   

[Petrushka]

Hi all,

Sorry to jump in so late (after everythings finished in fact).  I have just purchased two postcards one written by GD Olga and the other by GD Tatiana.  They have been purchased from a reputable business in London which specialises in royal memorabilia.  The two cards have come from the estate of Nona Kerr, Lady in Waiting to Princess Victoria of Milford Haven, sister of the Tsarina Alexandra and mother of Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
I would welcome any insights or knowledge of Nona Kerr and her relationship with the IF.
Thanks for any help you can give!
I am very very happy and also very very poor!
will get pics up asap

[Petrushka]

As per previous here are the pics![][]

[Eddie_uk]

Thats very interesting! Their is some information on Nona Kerr in "Louis and Victoria, The First Mountbattens" by Richard Hough. And also I think in Hugo Vickers "Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece".

[Vasa]

The only thing that is kindof related to them would be faberge. I already posted about my great grandparents in the russian imperial court and he got carl faberge to commission him a solid gold pill box with amethyst on the top. So when you push the amethyst to the right it opens the box.

[Romenta]

 

I own two Romanov items - one indirect and the other direct.  When I was in Estonia last year, I went to one of the oldest antique stores in Tallinn and this guy had a room full of stuff I could not believe - much from the time of Stalin and Lenin.  The place was pretty grubby and it was run by two Russian men, as everyone knows that the Estonians and Russians go to St. Petersburg and pick up stuff and take them out of the country.  I saw in a corner a silver watch with the Romanov seal and to my delight, it opened up three ways and still works.  It is quite old and the manufacturer of the watch is Swiss, which Nicholas utilized to make presentation watches.  The third compartment had a cyrillic message in it, signed by the presentator of the firm which said, "From his imperial majesty, with gratitude, to the head of his Imperial  body guard."  I have since taken it to two Russian watchmakers, who say it is real and had four more Russians translate the cyrillic, and they all come up with the same translation.  Although it never actually belonged to Nicholas (and the date of the watch was verified by the Russian watch experts here), I like to think he might have personally handed this over to this man.

My second item is a signed cabinet photo of Nicholas, signed in english, in which he was quite fluent and it is thought to have been a coronation present because of the Imperial crown on it.  It is also stamped by the court photographer and is in the original leather frame.  The piece is still up at RomanovRussia@aol.com, if anyone cares to view it.  I just haven't sent for it yet. The English signture was thought to have been done for an English guest.  It is only the second time the dealer told me he has EVER seen a signed Nicholas piece.

[Cajunbrew]

My humble collection includes coins dating from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II. My proud posession is a Khodynka Cup of Sorrows in fairly good condition which I display on my desk next to a photograph of Nicholas and Alexandra from 1896. Although I would love to own many more items, and even though many say the Khodynka cup is rather mundane, I believe this item has significant historical value. It was, after all, the gift of the Tzar to his people.

[Katharine]

I've read that there were 500,000 of the Coronation mugs made and distributed in the Khodynka field in 1896 and I was just wondering - do we have any estimation of how many may survive to this day? (Though I know it is practically impossible to put even a remotely accurate figure on this, but just out of interest, I was wondering if any estimated figure has ever been suggested).

Also, again out of interest, how many members of this forum own one?

I am the very proud owner of one myself, as of just yesterday

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Hello, Katharine!   Congratulations on your purchase!  I am certain that it will give you pleasure for many years!  May I add some further words to your inquiry?  Undoubtedly there were MANY Coronation souvenirs made for the coronation of the Emperor Nicholas II and his Empress.  Of the cup variety, there are at least 2 well-known Russian ones.  The most commonly seen is the tin-enameled metal cup (often referred to over the years as the "Cup of Sorrows") decorated with light blue, red-orange and black on a white background.  (Forgive me , if I am a bit off in my description, as one of that variety that I own is not in my home presently, being on loan to a family member and I am doing it from memory.  I have owned it for MANY years.)  There would be a gold band near the lip of the cup.  The state arms of Russia and the Imperial initials/year as well as intricate interwoven line patterns would be on the body of the cup in a transfer-print style of application.  The condition of these cups vary (and priced accordingly) due to knocks, chipping, etc.  I have never seen a maker's mark on one of these.  (CAUTION:  boxed "legal" COPIES are being made of this cup, I believe in Germany, as copies, but they are being sold, I have heard, as the real deal by unscrupulous individuals on the secondary market, minus the box, of course!  I have not personally handled one of these, but it is said that by comparing an original one with a copy, the difference is evident.)    The second (and less well-known) cup is of a molded ceramic, tapering to the top.  It is decorated with the mold decoration/s as follows:  On the front:  the Russian inscription,  "In Memory of the Holy Coronation," over the crowned shield of St. George and the Dragon (facing left), below which are laurel and oak leaf branches. The crowned cyphers of the Emperor and Empress respectively are to the left and right of the shield.  (I have two of these near me as I write.).  Being of a more fragile nature than the earlier mentioned metal cup, these are seldom seen in near-perfect condition.  They were made in at least 7 different solid colors. Of the two that I have, one is light blue and the other is cream/ivory colored. Invariably, there  are impressed markings on the bottom of pattern, maker's mark, etc.   While one may indeed have an absolutely authentic cup, it would be EXCEPTIONALLY difficult to discern (without very SUBSTANTIAL  DOCUMENTATION) as to whether that particular cup ever saw the light of Khodynka Field, or remained in a warehouse!           May I ask what variety of cup were you able to purchase?   Best wishes,  AP.

[Katharine]

Very interesting, Aleksandr, thanks for all of that info

I bought the tin enamled cup from John Atzbach: http://atzbach.com/Misc/item1802.htm.

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Then you did very well indeed, Katharine!  You can certainly feel very, very comfortable with your new purchase, for John is a superb person and dealer.  Others on this forum have openly commented very favorably on their dealings with him.  I and another family member also buy from him.  Best wishes,  AP.

[CharlotteSometimes]

I also have some of the little icons of Nicholas II and the Imperial Family--they were really quite inexpensive but are very pretty.  I also have a signed first-edition of Marie Pavlovna Jr.'s book, "A Princess in Exile."  It's not rare or anything (I read somewhere that she signed most of the first-edition books) but it is cool to think that a member of the Romanov family handled the little book I own.

[GDDimitri]

Sorry for jumping in on this thread so late. I have this trophy at home. It was given by GD Dimitri to an uncle of mine at a shooting championship in France in 1934!





I started a thread on this trophy in "Russian Imperial Antiques" here :  http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=11902.0

[Thomas_Hesse]

It is not really a souvenir that I own - it is a little splinter of wood from the very first coffin of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. In 1992 (I think) that wodden coffin had to be removed due to damages caused by acid. The body was cleaned and dressed up in a new habit. The nuns scratched out what remained of wood, fabric, dry blood etc in the coffin and kept it in a special box.
Some months ago a nun from the convent in Jerusalem visited Germany and the museum I am working in. After our tour on the Grand Duchess she gave me - as a thankyou - that splinter........ unsere Ella.....

Then there is a thing I cannot really identify. It is a piece of thick blue paper folded in a triangle shape. On it is a large Imperial seal (double headed eagle) in red sealing wax. The cyrillic inscription on it says (phonetically): "Woenno pochodnaya kantselariya ego Imperatorskago Belitshestva"
If anybody has an idea of what that thing can be I'd be very grateful! I got it from a close friend of mine, a grand daughter of Margarethe "Gretchen" von Fabrice who was Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna's maid of honor from 1888-1894. She stayed in Russia in 1894 and 1896. Perhaps she took it with her at that time? The grand daughter owns an identical thing but here the inscription is in French....