The architectural decoration of the center of St. Petersburg is the Shuvalov Palace on the banks of the Fontanka. The building has become famous for its historical past and the unique collection that is kept in its premises. Since 2013, in the halls of the palace, a collection of original products of the Faberge jewelry house has been presented to the public. The core of the exposition is made up of Easter souvenir eggs, commissioned by the reigning monarchs. The Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg functions under the patronage of the "Link of Times" cultural and historical foundation. The activities of the institution are described in detail on the official website of the museum.
The history of the Shuvalov Palace and the creation of the museum
The exact date of the construction of the luxurious building on the Fontanka embankment has not been established. Presumably the palace dates back to the 2nd half of the 18th century. In appearance, it resembles the style inherent in the architect D. Quarenghi. The image of the house can be seen on the popular engraving "Fontanka Embankment at Anichkov Bridge" by B.Patersen. Initially, the building was owned by Count Vorontsov. At the end of the 18th century. it was bought by M.A. Naryshkina. She decided to use the premises to house her personal art collection. The Naryshkina Museum collected paintings, sculptures, weapons, watches, numismatics and more. The hostess often hosted receptions attended by famous writers (Pushkin, Krylov, Karamzin) and painters (Bryullov).
The attendance of the ball by the heir to the crown turned the Naryshkins' estate into the center of the social life of the Russian capital. After the marriage of S.L. Naryshkina, the palace as her dowry passed into the possession of the Shuvalovs. In the years 1844-1859. the building was rebuilt. The authors of the project were architects B. Simon and N. Efimov. The body has acquired features in the neo-Renaissance style. The Shuvalov Palace served as the St. Petersburg residence of the count's family until the beginning of the 1st World War. In 1914, E.V. Shuvalova donated the house for the needs of a military hospital. An infirmary for the wounded officers was placed in the rooms. In 1918 the palace became the property of the Soviet state. However, most of the valuables were hidden in safe hiding places.
They were discovered and opened in 1919. The found treasures were transferred to the established Museum of Noble Life. It existed from 1919 to 1925. Later, the Shuvalov collection was transferred to the funds of the State Hermitage and the Russian Museum. At the end of the 20s. in the building functioned the House of the Press, in the 30s. - house of technology and design institute. During the war, the palace was repeatedly bombed and severely damaged. It took several restorations (50-60) to return the halls to their previous appearance. Since 1963, the House of Friendship of Peoples was located in the Shuvalov Palace. At the beginning of the 21st century. the palace was leased to the fund of V. Vekselberg "Link of Times".
By the decision of the patron, the building was converted into a museum. The reconstruction was carried out for 7 years. The opening took place in 2013. The main asset of the exposition was the collection of Faberge Easter eggs (14 items), as well as other products of the famous jeweler. The foundation plans to create a network of similar museums in different parts of the Russian Federation. The Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg was the first project to come true.
Exposition
More than 4 thousand artifacts are kept in the funds of the museum. Most of the relics belonged to the Romanov imperial family. In the halls of the Shuvalov Palace, objects of the tsar's everyday life, as well as an invaluable collection of Easter eggs created in the Faberge jewelry house, are displayed for all to see. The interior is perfectly complemented by paintings by famous Russian artists - K. Makovsky, G. Semiradsky, I. Aivazovsky, K. Bryullov, A. Kharlamov, K. Korovin and others.
The entrance hall
Inspection of the museum begins from the entrance hall. In it, visitors can see accessories and haberdashery products that were used by aristocrats in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Jewelry with the Faberge brand is of great interest. Colored enamel gives the products a spectacular appearance. This is an insignificant part of the heritage that has survived to our time.
White and blue living room
Two large rooms share a common theme. They contain porcelain items made by Russian masters of the 19th century: P. Ovchinnikov, I. Khlebnikov, A. Kuzmichev, F. Rückert. Artels, under their leadership, produced the highest quality enamels. For their impeccable work, artisans were honored to become suppliers of the imperial court. The enamel products were also appreciated by jewelers. Antip Kuzmichev signed a contract with the Tiffany company. And his colleague, Fyodor Rückert, was the co-author of many accessories produced under the Faberge sign.
Showroom
At the time of the Shuvalovs, the room was called the Big Office and was used to store the personal collections of the owner of the house. Nowadays, the hall has been converted for exhibition purposes. Its exposition has 2 directions: painting by Russian artists of the 19th century. and carvings made of stone.
Gothic hall
The Count Shuvalov's office has been transformed into a museum hall, where cult objects are offered to the attention of sightseers. In particular, the walls of the room are occupied by ancient icons of the 16th-20th centuries. Many of them are set in frames of precious metals, decorated with gems. The most ancient item in the collection is the Royal Doors, dating back to 1600.
Golden living room
The room was intended for ceremonial meals. Its walls are covered with golden damask, which gives the atmosphere a festive look. The room contains gifts that were presented to members of the imperial family. Quite often the Romanovs gave each other caskets or snuff boxes with portraits, as well as jewelry. Among the products on display in the hall are stone figures, miniature furniture and dishes, stationery. In the 19th century. insignificant things were called "fantasy". They performed an exclusively aesthetic function.
Red living room
I often refer to the room as Naryshkinskaya. She owes her nickname to the family crest on the ceiling. The living room contains items from silver of the 18-20th centuries. They were made in the famous jewelry workshops of the Russian Empire: Faberge, the Grachev brothers, Sazikov, Tigelstein, Nichols and Plinke. Each factory specialized in a particular style. Thus, Faberge produced silver items in the Art Nouveau style, while the Sazikovs made items in the Slavic traditions. The sea-style tea set presented as a wedding present to the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich is considered a real masterpiece. The sketch for him was drawn by F. Solntsev, and the objects were cast at the factory of I. Sazikov. The collection of artistic silver in the Shuvalov Palace is truly unique.
Knight's hall
The hall is filled with military-related exhibits. It presents the boards that were installed when the warships were laid. In the showcases, visitors can see silver wine sets. They were presented as a gift to commanders on special occasions. The walls of the room are decorated with canvases in the battle genre by K. Piratesky and P. Balashov. A characteristic feature of the hall is a frieze on which a tournament of knights is drawn. Hence the name - Knights' Hall.
Blue living room
The main room in the house is called the Blue Living Room because of the silk upholstery on the walls. The pride of the Faberge Museum is concentrated in it - Easter eggs with surprises. They were created as gifts to the spouses of Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II. Visitors have the opportunity to view 14 legendary items.Among them is the first ("Hen") and the last ("Order of St. George") egg from the Easter cycle. Each has a unique design and has its own secret. Making souvenirs for members of the imperial family brought unprecedented fame to the Faberge jewelry house. The craftsmen spent up to one year to create a casket egg with a surprise.
Collection masterpieces
Faberge's workshops have been making Easter gifts for the Romanov dynasty for over 30 years. During this time, 50 original eggs were created, decorated with precious metals, gems, enamel, ivory and other valuable materials. The exposition of the Shuvalov Palace presents 14 items from the renowned series. For more than 50 years, the jewels of the Romanov dynasty have been in the collection of the Forbes family. They were bought by the Russian philanthropist V. Vekselberg at an auction in 2004.
Easter egg "Hen"
During a visit in 1897 to an industrial and artistic exhibition in the Danish capital, Emperor Alexander III was delighted with an unusual precious egg. The elegant piece was carved from ivory. There was a gold ring inside. The rare artifact belonged to Duchess Wilhelmina. The Russian emperor wanted a similar souvenir to be made for his wife Maria Feodorovna. The order was entrusted to the well-known Russian jeweler Peter Karl Faberge. His work attracted the attention of the imperial couple when they viewed the exhibition in Moscow.
Alexander III planned to present an egg with a surprise as a gift for Easter. The tradition of giving gifts to loved ones on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ has long been revered among Orthodox believers. The royal family also adhered to it. The emperor instructed his brother to personally oversee the preparations for the celebration, incl. oversee the work of making the surprise. The jeweler E. Collin from the Faberge workshops was engaged in translating the project into reality. The master did not copy the European prototype exactly. Outwardly, the product did not differ in rich decoration, but looked quite simple. The shell was made of white enamel. The yolk is made of gold. Inside is a multi-colored chicken figurine. She played the role of a box with a secret. When pressing on the head and goiter, the bird opens up.
In a secret compartment lay a crown-shaped pendant made of ruby. It came with a gold chain. The last two treasures were lost, and the egg was preserved and displayed to the public. The elegant product is small in size. Its width is only 3.5 cm, and its height is 6.4 cm. Maria Fyodorovna liked the idea of the Easter egg "Hen". For the impeccable fulfillment of the order, Faberge was awarded the title of court jeweler. The Emperor decided to introduce into the custom of giving original precious souvenirs on Easter. The first egg was followed by new orders. Faberge's workshop became famous all over the world for its Easter eggs-boxes. 50 original copies were made.
Easter egg-box "Renaissance"
In October 1894, Emperor Alexander III died, so the "Renaissance" egg, presented by him as a gift to his wife, is considered the last gift. When creating a precious trinket, Faberge was guided by the general trend characteristic of the art of the late 19th century. At this time, many masters drew inspiration from the works of bygone eras. The prototype for the royal gift was a box, made by order of the Saxon dukes. Its author was Le Roy, a jeweler from Holland.
The manufacture of the tsarist order was entrusted to Mikhail Perkhin. He slightly modified the appearance of the product and gave it the shape of an ellipse. The "eggshell" was cut from agate. The outer shell is decorated with semi-precious stones - diamonds and rubies. The date of manufacture is indicated on the top. On both sides of the chest are attached handles decorated with lion heads. The height of the product is just over 13 cm.
The egg is hollow inside. No information has been preserved about its contents. Historians have two versions. According to one, a pearl pendant was kept inside. More plausible is the assumption that the casket contained the "Resurrection of Christ" egg. Its dimensions correspond to the inner cavity of the "Renaissance". In addition, the decor of the egg is in many ways similar to the decoration of the box. The mystery of the last Easter gift of Alexander III still remains unsolved.
Easter egg "Rosebud"
After the accession to the throne of Nicholas II, the new monarch continued his father's tradition. At his behest, Faberge's workshops began to create 2 luxurious eggs at the same time for Easter, differing in their original design. One was intended as a gift to the king's mother, and the other to his wife. As the first Easter souvenir, Alexandra Feodorovna received an egg called "Rosebud". It was made in a romantic style and symbolized the tender feelings that Nicholas II had for his wife. The gallant atmosphere that reigned at the court of the French king Louis XVI inspired the creation of the new masterpiece of the jeweler. The outer shell of the egg is covered with strawberry pink enamel.
The surface is decorated with small decorative elements: arrows, wreaths, garlands. They are made of gold and diamonds. At the top of the ellipse is a portrait of the emperor, covered with a transparent diamond plate. The miniature is painted with watercolors on ivory. Another diamond closes the date on which the egg was made. The inner cavity serves as a storage for an elegant tea rose bud. The intricate little thing has a little secret: when you press the button on the stem, the flower petals open. The tea rose was a favorite plant of the Hessian princess who became the wife of the Russian emperor.
The biggest surprise was in the center of the bud. It contained a smaller copy of the imperial crown. It was paired with a ruby pendant. Unfortunately, both rarities were lost. The authorship of the product belongs to M. Perkhin. The egg has very modest parameters. Its height is 6.8 cm.
Easter egg "Coronation"
In May 1896, the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II took place. This event served as the impetus for the creation of a magnificent Easter egg bearing the same name "Coronation". During the celebrations, the carriage of Catherine the Great was used to enter Moscow for the royal couple. It was made at the end of the 18th century. the famous court coachman I. Bukendal. Faberge chose the crew as the basis for creating a souvenir. A miniature copy of the imperial carriage was made by G. Stein. The mechanism was fully consistent with the original and could move. The doors of the carriage opened, and the steps were lowered down. The set also included a jadeite stand on which the model of the crew was attached. To make a masterpiece, it took the master to work 1.3 years, 16 hours a day.
The carriage windows are made of rock crystal with engraved curtains. Instead of velvet, the seats and body are covered with scarlet enamel. The wheel rims are enclosed in platinum hoops. The back of the carriage is decorated with cast gold garlands. The model is topped with a diamond crown. The similarity with the original is enhanced by the presence of golden imperial eagles adorning the sides of the body. The unique product served as a kind of gift case - egg-shaped pendants. It was attached to a special hook hidden inside the mechanism.
The jewel was not saved, and there is conflicting information about it. Some sources claim that the material for the pendant was a yellow diamond. Other eyewitnesses noted that the testicle was emerald and had a pear-shaped shape. The "Coronation Egg" consists of 2 halves. Its outer surface visually resembles an imperial robe. The yellow enamel is covered with a gilded mesh.On it are fixed 2-head eagles - a symbol of the imperial house of the Romanovs. Traditionally, the top of the ellipse is marked with diamond lenses. Under one is the monogram of Alexandra Feodorovna. The initials are made of the smallest diamonds and rubies.
Another lens covers the date stamp of the Easter gift - 1897. Parameters of the precious trinket: width - 9.4 cm, height - 12.7 cm. The co-authors of the project were Henrik Wigström, Mikhail Perkhin and Georg Stein. The total cost of the "Coronation Egg" was 3.5 thousand rubles. At the moment, the jewelry masterpiece is estimated by experts at $ 24 million.
Easter egg "Laurel tree"
Among the Faberge jewelry masterpieces, made by order of the royal family, the souvenir tree stands out sharply. Only by the oval shape of its crown can one guess that this item belongs to a series of Easter eggs. The miniature was intended as a gift to Empress Maria Feodorovna. Nicholas II ordered her to congratulate his mother on the 30th anniversary of her coronation. It was no coincidence that the gift looked like an evergreen tree. The laurel, as conceived by the master, symbolized long life, honor and glory. Each leaf was cut separately from jade. Instead of fruits, cut crystals of pink diamonds, citrines, amethysts were used. Flowers are made of white enamel.
The trunk is fixed in a pot, carved out of onyx and decorated with a gilded net with garlands. The surprise was inside the crown of the laurel. After pressing a special lever, the cache was opened, and a miniature bird appeared. It circled on a branch, flapped its wings with real feathers and opened its beak. After the end of the vocal performance, the feathered soloist again disappeared among the leaves. The "laurel tree" was presented to the dowager empress in 1911. Some sources refer to the product as the "orange tree". This is one of the largest Easter souvenirs made in the Faberge home. The height of the trunk with the crown is over 27 cm.
Table clock with globe
Table-type clocks are made in a strict classic style. They were meant for the office. The exterior design reflected an interest in natural sciences and geographical discoveries. Similar trends were characteristic of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The body is carved out of jade. The upper part of the chronometer is crowned with a crystal globe connected by a common mechanism with the dial. The hands indicate hours and minutes, and a scale along the equatorial axis displays local time in different regions of the world. An engraving on the surface of the globe denotes major shipping lanes. The original chronometer was made according to G. Wigström's sketch in 1908-1911.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The Shuvalov Palace is open to the public every day, except Friday. Working hours 10-20.45 h. Visitors can view the exposition on their own using an audio guide. Organized excursions run from 10 am to 6 pm. Tour duration - 60 minutes.
The ticket price depends on the category of visitors:
- for adults - 600 rubles. (with a guided tour) and 450 rubles. (individually)
- for beneficiaries - 350 rubles. (with a guided tour) and 200 rubles. (individually)
Where is it located and how to get there
Museum address: Fontanka embankment, 21.
The most convenient way to get to the museum is by metro. The following stations are located in the immediate vicinity of the Shuvalov Palace:
- "Nevsky Prospect" (Moscow-Petrogradskaya line)
- Gostiny Dvor (Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya line)
- Mayakovskaya (Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya line)
- "Ploshchad Vosstaniya" (Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya line)
