Thank you Dmitry. Yes, it's very tragic. The Bolsheviks destroyed so much priceless artifacts and jewels, they decimated a large part of Russian cultural history. The Chinese Communists have done the same especially during the notorious Cultural Revolution. --Previous Message-- : I have heard the same and know that some : packets of gems were sold independent of the : larger sales, but cannot verify beyond that. : Very, very sad. : : --Previous Message-- : : Dmitry, you may correct me if I'm wrong, : but I've read that many of the Russian Royal : jewel pieces, besides being sold, had the : gemstones removed and the precious metals : were melted down into bars and sold. I : recall reading that in a news magazine : article many years ago. Do you know if : there's any truth to it? Thank you. : --Previous Message-- : The jewels of the Grand Duchess Cyril were : from her mother and formed part of Grand : Duchess Marie Alexandrovna's wedding jewels. : They were sapphires and diamonds. : : --Previous Message-- : Source: Library of Congress collection. : : It looks like Tsarina Alexandra wore this : same tiara in both photos. It was a real : small tiara so I doubt it was among these : jewels on the table, was it? : : : Grand Duchess Cyrill of Russia (in the left : photo with her daughter Princess Marie) wore : the tiara and the : ??convertible-tiara??-necklace and brooch : with the pendant. Are they among the jewels : on the table? Or they survived in her family : jewel collection until a point in time, did : they? Or they were not given to her by : anyone in the Russian royal family on her : marriage, were they? : : : Was the tiara (worn by Grand Duchess : Michael of Russia [Anastasia] here) owned by : the Russian royal family before she acquired : it? : : : The Duchess of Edinburgh & : Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's tiara and : necklace/pendant and brooch/pendant and : earring set....were they Russian in origin : or British? She was the former Grand Duchess : of Russia. : : : --Previous Message-- : Source: Library of Congress and Getty : Images. : : Tsarina Alexandra wore one of these 13 : tiaras (lying on the table in the newspaper : picture). Not sure about the choker, earring : set, necklace, bracelets, or the fan. : : : Tsarina Marie wore two of these 13 tiaras : here. I would assume these pearl necklaces : and the brooch would be among these jewels : lying on that table. : : : I think Tsarina Alexandra was wearing one : of these 13 tiaras as well. Not sure about : the long necklace and another necklace and : earring set or bracelets. : : : An earlier Tsarina Alexandra....not sure if : her jewels here are among the ones lying on : the table. Certainly, there were some really : large oval gemstones on that table. : : : Grand Duchess Constantine wore the same : necklace and bracelets as worn by that : earlier Tsarina Alexandra (immediately : above)(furthermore, both ladies looked : alike), so I suppose they were one and the : same woman. : : Grand Duchess Vladimir wore the famous : tiara which is currently in the possession : of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, so this : tiara is safe. But I suppose the Grand : Duchess' choker and two other necklaces and : earring set and brooch and bracelets were : among these jewels on the table. : : : --Previous Message-- : This topic was started by Dmitry (far : below), : that prompted me to search in the Library of : Congress collection. This was what I found : several days ago. I am sure most, if not : all, of you already had seen this picture of : the whole array of Russian Crown Jewels on : the table. I put here this whole picture, : plus zoomed-up snippets of all portions of : the whole table, starting from the left to : the right. : : There appears to be 13 tiaras in total in : the whole picture. Question: how many of : them ARE NOT in existence anymore or of : whose whereabouts are currently UNKNOWN? : : Source: Library of Congress, from the : "New York Tribune" (NY) dated Dec. : 17, 1922 (published on the front page). : : The whole picture of the array of jewels : and non-jewel pieces on the table : : : Caption: : : : From the left side to the right side (with : upwards and downwards across the left to : right sides): : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : The End. : : It staggers me how many the Russian royal : family actually possessed because there were : a lot of other jewel pieces (pre-Russian : Revolution of 1917) that were either carried : into other European royal families via : marriages, bought by some members of the : other Royal Families (i.e., Britain), and : smuggled out of Russia during the : Revolution. Or lost during the transition : out of that country. : : : : : : : : : : :
on January 2, 2013, 10:45 pm, in reply to "