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Russian Imperial tiara - photoshop?
Posted by Janet on June 2, 2020, 12:22 am
One of the largest tiaras I have ever seen was the worn worn by Tsarina Alexandra.
I believe the tiara has dissapeared and its current whereabouts (assuming it even still exists) are unknown.
However I have seen a photo showing the tiara in various different versions, is this a genuine photo or an example of great photoshop?
What a knack you have for finding interesting photos!
I know very little about the Russian royal jewels,so I am hoping some others might be able to throw some light on the issue.
The tiara obviously survived the revolution as seen in the photo released by the Soviets in the early 1920s.
In 1930 the tiara was said to be part of the Diamond Fund held by the Soviets.
But, as we all know some of those items were later sold -- for example the elaborate snuff box is now in the British royal collection.
Nevertheless, I strongly suspect that the third photo in Janet's post is a photoshop item showing the possibilities. When I looked at the pearls surmounting the tiara, I noticed that part of the central pearl is obscured. That can also be seen in the smaller version which has pearl surmounts.
What breathtaking jewels they are, I wonder why the Russian Jewel vault somewhat like the British royal collection does not allow the light of day to show on supposed jewels they are still in receipt of. I wonder why a socialist/ communist state would hold onto to jewels from a bygone era of which may have been the most bloodiest and saddest time in Russian history.
Regards,
Dave.
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One of the largest tiaras I have ever seen was the worn worn by Tsarina Alexandra.
I believe the tiara has dissapeared and its current whereabouts (assuming it even still exists) are unknown.
However I have seen a photo showing the tiara in various different versions, is this a genuine photo or an example of great photoshop?
I suspect many have been broken up and reset. My personal dream is they were all properly photographed before they were broken up, if not for appreciation of their beauty but simply as a record, the Communists were assiduous record keepers!
There is that very sad picture of the Yussopov jewels and those of Grand Duchess Xenia being laid out on a table as jewellers are in the background breaking them up - at the time this was happening in the 1920s there was a flood of Russian and European jewels on the market and the value had dropped, so maybe there was the sense that the stones were worth more individually as opposed to set within a tiara or necklace.
I actually saw an original volume at Christie's, it's not the sort of place were you can get over excited without alarming security but internally I was screaming!!
I have done some research into these jewels and I think that the second photo you show is a photoshop manipulation to show various configurations of the tiara.
When you look at the 1927 sale catalogue of these jewels the first section was retained for Russia's museums the rest of the catalogue was for actual sale. This tiara is listed as item no. 9 to be retained. Despite this it has since vanished from the jewels retained in the Russian collections like so many other pieces:
"Imperial diadem, pearls and diamonds Regal assemblage of pearls and old diamonds. This diadem is, past question, one of the finest specimens of its kind.
The only photos you see Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wearing this piece is at the 1906 Duma. Here are a few behind the scenes photos of Alexandra getting ready before leaving while wearing the tiara.
on June 2, 2020, 12:22 am
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