Discussions about the Imperial Family and European Royalty > The Yussupovs

The Youssupov jewelry

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Miamia:

--- Quote ---Unfortunately, the larger part of the Yusupov jewels were left behind in Russia, hidden by Felix in the palace the family held in Moscow (He describes this in "Lost Splendour," his recntly reissued autobiography.)  The jewels were discovered when a servant revealed their whereabouts.
--- End quote ---

I hope this is not the case. In the old memoires (Avant l'exil, 1952) by Prince Felix it says quite clearly that the head of the servants did not reveal the hiding place of the treasure:

"Our personnel was recruited from all parts of the world: Arabs, Tartars and Kalmucks brightened the house with their multicolored costumes. They were all under the direction of Gregory Boujinsky. This faithful servant showed the extent of his devotion when the Bolsheviks came to plunder our property. He died under the most atrocious torture without revealing to his tormentors the hiding places in which our jewels and most precious possessions were concealed. Although the fact that these hiding places were discovered a few years later made his sacrifice vain, its value is in no way impaired, and I wish to pay a tribute in these pages to the heroic fidelity of Gregory Boujinsky who remained staunch, and preferred a horrible death to betraying his master's secrets."


--- Quote --- A bolshevik era photograph of this cache (including two massive silver swans commissioned from Faberge) illustrated on page 125 of Alexander von SOlodkoff's "Masterpieces of the House of Faberge" (Abrams, 1984).
--- End quote ---

And not just two but three swans! The complete photograph show the third neck and head of a swan behind one of the bolshevick "agents" on the right corner of the picture on pages 322 and 323 in Geoffrey
Munn's great book Tiaras A History of Splendour, 2001.


--- Quote ---Prince Felix's wife, Irina (Born Princess Irina of Russia) had fortunately sent her vast collection of jewelry to Paris to be reset by Chaumet when they were exiled to the Crimea after the murder of Rasputin.  When they arrived in Paris, this collection is what sustained them for many years --- not the jewelry of Princess Zinaida, as far as I know.  I have also heard that several key pieces remain in the hands of the only surviving Yusupov descendant.
--- End quote ---

These jewels were reset already on their honey moon in 1914. The great sunburst tiara by Chaumet, the wedding tiara of Princess Irina and the true lovers knot tiara with pearls can be seen among other tiaras in the same picture in Munn's book. What a great pity!

The whereabouts of these items are unknown still today.

Valmont:
Ok Miamia, What's your point?
Is there anything you want to ask regading the jewelry?

Arturo Vega-Llausás

Seamus O Brien:
I am currently a post graduate student and hope to compose a thesis on the fall of the Russian nobility in the aftermath of the 1917 revolution. I am looking for information on the Yusupov family and other noble families.  Their position in society and their subsequent fall from privilege in 1917.  What became of their property, prestige, and personal belongings.  Primary source information would be most beneficial.  Thanking you in advance.  Seamus O Brien

Jmentanko:
Lost Splendor is Felix Yussupov's amusing book about his life in Russia before, during, and a little after the revolution. He also wrote En Exile. Which I suppose deals with this life in exile. Just a guess. :-/

There are quite a few memoirs by other Russian aristocrats. I think you can find quite a few of them listed in the Books section of this site. I just finished a book a few weeks ago about a rich Jewish family in pre-revolutionary Russia and their time in exile. This woman had a really interesting life, I think her name was Tamara.  :-/

Valmont:

Do you know the name of the book??

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