Imperial crown of Russia
Imperial crown of Russia | |
---|---|
Heraldic depictions | |
Details | |
Country | Russian Empire |
Made | 1762 |
Owner | State Diamond Fund |
Weight | 1.994 kg (4.4 lb) |
Arches | 2 |
Cap | Red velvet |
Notable stones | 4,936 diamonds 74 pearls 1 red spinel |
The Imperial crown of Russia (Russian: Императорская Корона России), also known as the great imperial crown (Russian: Великая Императорская Корона), was used for the
Background
By 1613, when
In 1719, Tsar
From this collection came a new set of regalia, including eventually the great imperial crown, to replace the Crown of Monomakh and other crowns
Manufacture
The court jeweller Ekart and
In formally adopting the Western term "Emperor" for the ruler of Russia, Peter the Great also adopted Western imperial symbols, including the form of the private crowns (Hauskrone) used by the Holy Roman Emperors (of which the only surviving example is the Austrian imperial crown of Rudolf II, the Imperial Crown of Austria), in which a circlet with eight fleur-de-lis surrounds a mitre with a high arch extending from the front to the back fleur-de-lis. Already in Austria some baroque representations of this type of crown found on statues of the saints had transformed the two halves of the mitre into two half-spheres, and this is the type of imperial crown used in Russia. Peter's widow and successor, Catherine I, was the first Russian ruler to wear this form of imperial crown.
In the imperial crown, these hemispheres are in open metalwork resembling basketwork with the edges of both the hemispheres bordered with a row of 37 very fine, large, white pearls. They rest on a circlet of nineteen diamonds, all averaging over 5 carats (1.0 g) in weight, the largest being the large Indian pear-shaped stone of 12+5⁄8 in front, set between two bands of diamonds above and below. Posier replaced the eight fleur-de-lis with four pairs of crossed palm branches, while the arch between them is made up of oaks leaves and acorns in small diamonds surrounding a number of large diamonds of various shapes and tints [8] running from the front pair of crossed palms to the back pair of crossed palms, while the basketwork pattern of the two hemispheres are divided by two strips of similar oak leaves and acorns from the two side pairs of palm branches stretching up to the rows of large pearls on their borders. At the center and apex of the central arch is a diamond rosette of twelve petals from which rises a large red spinel, weighing 398.72 carats (79.744 grams), one of the seven historic stones of the Russian Diamond Collection, which was brought to Russia by Nicholas Spafary, the Russian envoy to China from 1675 to 1678. It is believed to be the second largest spinel in the world.[9] This spinel, in turn, is surmounted by a cross of five diamonds, representing the Christian faith of the Sovereign, the God-given power of the monarchy and the supremacy of the divine order over earthly power. Except for the two rows of large white pearls the entire surface of the crown is covered with 4936 diamonds and weighs approximately nine pounds (by contrast, the Crown of Monomakh weighs only two pounds).[10] It was unfinished in time for Catherine's coronation and the original colored stones (e.g., emeralds in the palm branches and laurel leaves) were replaced with diamonds for the coronation of Paul I in 1797. It was used at every subsequent coronation until that of Nicholas II in 1896 and was last worn in the imperial period at the State Opening of the Duma in 1906.
There was also a lesser imperial crown, very similar in style and workmanship, only smaller and entirely set with diamonds, made for Empress Maria Feodorovna, the consort of Paul I, and used for the coronation of the Tsarina. At the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896, the smaller crown was worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. A second identical lesser imperial crown was made for the young Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to wear. Dowager Empresses outranked reigning Empress Consorts at the Russian Court.
In 1900, the workshop of
First World War, revolution and the Soviet period
In 1913, Agathon Fabergé, son of
In 1922, they were re-catalogued and transferred to the State Treasury.
'Here', says Begasheff [head of the jewellery commission], opening the box with hands that tremble ever so little despite his air of unconcern, 'is the crown of the Emperor, 32,800 carats of diamonds.'
'Is it heavy?'
'No', said one of the workmen, '5 pounds at most - try it,' and placed it straight away on my head.[14]
Heraldic use
The imperial crown appeared on the
The great imperial crown was placed above the Imperial
The crown was also placed on the arms of
Since December 20, 2000, the imperial crown has appeared on the
Some cities and oblasts of Russia have their coat of arms depicting the imperial crown.
See also
- Imperial crown
- Monomakh's Cap (the crown used before the great imperial crown)
- Orlov diamond (set in the Russian Imperial sceptre)
- Coronation of the Russian monarch
Notes
- ^ The crown is styled after the Monomakh Cap and was made for Tsar Michael Fyodorovich by Kremlin masters in 1627. The orb and sceptre are of Western European origin and may have been given to Tsar Boris Godunov in 1604.
- ^ "pectoral cross". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "golden chain". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "barmas". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "sceptre". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "orb". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "other crowns". Kreml.ru. 1997-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Including at the bottom of the arch in the front, a 56 carats (11.2 g) diamond with a slight tint that had belonged to the Empress Elizabeth; above it another large brilliant of 41.3125 carats (8.26250 g); a four-sided brilliant of 18.375 carats (3.6750 g); a pink pendant of 21.875 carats (4.3750 g) and a bevelled four-sided oblong stone of 17.375 carats (3.4750 g), while from the back bottom is found a triangular Indian-cut brilliant of pinkish-blown tine of 17+3⁄16 carats (3.44 g); an oval boat-shaped bluish-white stone of 17+1⁄8 carats (3.43 g); a long pendant with a light golden tint of 12+1⁄4 carats (2.45 g); a perfect, white rhomboid of 16+1⁄2 carats (3.30 g) and a four-sided thick stone of pink water of 12+1⁄4 carats (2.45 g).
- Timur Rubyof 352.54 carats (70.508 g) in the Royal Collection of the British monarchy.
- ^ R. Monk Zachariah Liebmann, "Martyrology of the Communist Yoke: The Life of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II", The Orthodox Word, 153 (1990), 193–4.
- ^ a b Clarke. The Lost Fortune of the Tsars. p. 151.
- ^ Clarke. The Lost Fortune of the Tsars. p. 152.
- ^ Clarke. The Lost Fortune of the Tsars. p. 172.
- ^ Clarke. The Lost Fortune of the Tsars. p. 173.
- ^ See for example, http://www.romanovrussia.com/MFcobaltEgg.html Archived 2009-01-20 at the Wayback Machine.
References
- Clarke, William (1994). The Lost Fortune of the Tsars. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81434-6.
External links
- Russian Crown Jewels
- Imperial Sceptre
- Regalia on display at the Kremlin Armoury
- Faberge's Miniatures of the Imperial Regalia
- Description of Coronation
- The Coronation of Tsar Nicholas II Royal Russia
- Official Coronation Album
- Speech From the Throne by Nicholas II at Opening of the State Duma, Winter Palace, 27 April 1906