Naval officer's sword, Shaf & Sons, St Petersburg, circa 1855 (reign of Alexander III). Bulot alloy, gilt bronz, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, leather, and silver thread. Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve.

 

Jewels of the Romanovs

Conspicuous Consumption at
The Brooklyn Museum of Art

By Judith Gura

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The Romanovs were never known for understatement. The extravagance of objects currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, however, outstrips all expectations.

The collection of gems and ornaments in "The Jewels of the Romanovs" includes some of the most over-the-top examples of conspicuous consumption ever crafted from the dynasty that made lavishness a national characteristic.

"The Jewels of the Romanovs: Treasures of the Russian Imperial Court" is making its final American stop in a tour that began at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and has included appearances in Houston, San Diego and Memphis. In a last-minute coup, Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman, seeking a suitable follow up to the blockbuster Monet exhibit that closed in January, scooped up the headline-making show on the verge of its return to Russia.

It will remain at the museum through July 5, and then the celebrated contents will go back to Moscow, most into the private storerooms of the Finance Ministry's Diamond Fund, official caretaker of the state-owned treasure. As the third largest art museum in America (after the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery), in the borough now housing the largest Russian community outside that country's borders, the Brooklyn Museum venue provides a fitting coda to the tour.

The Romanov exhibition marks the first time that Russian state jewels, which since 1922 have provided part of the backing for the country's currency, have traveled to America. Presenting the world of the Romanov court that began with Peter the Great and ended with Nicholas II, it includes, in addition to the jewelry, ecclesiastic objects, costumes, and paintings that provide context for the treasures and their fascinating histories.

Organized by a committee of lending institutions in Russia and a cultural foundation in New York, the event marks the anniversary of the 1871 state visit of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, son of Alexander II, to the United States. The Grand Duke's visit was at the invitation of President Ulysses S. Grant, in appreciation of Russian support in blockading Southern ports during the Civil War. Having freed his own serfs in 1861, Alexander II was sympathetic to the Union's antislavery stance.

Like the period it chronicles, the exhibition itself was marked by international incidents. First, there was a controversy over proceeds from ticket sales between its Russian and American organizers. Then there was a threat of curtailment when the return of the treasure was sought for Moscow's 850th anniversary last year. The tour resumed after the intercession of the Russian Cultural Minister. The ensuing media coverage probably helped boost attendance figures.

Only 33 of the 201 catalogue entries are actually jewelry, although the design and ornamentation of the 39 ecclesiastic objects would almost qualify as such. The precious objects, however, so outshine all else that they deserve to have the exhibition named for them.

Although it may be enjoyed for its contents alone, the exhibition is far more meaningful when understood in the context of the period it documents, in the history of the country now known as the Russian Federation, formerly Soviet Russia and, for more than three centuries before that, the Russian empire. It is a history marked by political conflict, dynastic intrigue, and unrest.

The country itself is a blend of European and Asiatic cultures. Originally populated by Slavs, and linked to the same ancestors as the nations of Eastern Europe, Russia was also settled by Vikings, from whose language the word "Rossya" was derived. Torn between Eastern and Western cultures, the rulers of Kiev placed the country under Byzantine influence in the Tenth Century, when they adopted the Eastern form of Christianity. Even then showing an affinity for lavish ornament, they were supposedly swayed by the splendor of Constantinople's St Sophia Cathedral.

With the sack of Kiev by the Tatars in the Thirteenth Century, the fledgling state became further estranged from Western Europe. Tatar domination ended only two centuries later, when Russia's diverse principalities were absorbed under the Moscovy regime, and Ivan the Terrible began expanding its boundaries. It was Ivan who first adopted the designation of Czar, a title derived from Caesar, asserting his ambition of an empire to rival that of Rome.

With the fall of Byzantium to the Turks in the Fifteen Century, the empire was consolidated under the absolute rule of the Romanovs, who took the country through more than two centuries of lavish lifestyle, aggressive expansion, and exposure to the arts and culture of Western Europe.

The first and fiercest of the Romanovs, Peter the Great (1672-1725), began the "Europeanization" process, bringing the country out of its medieval state into a modern way of life. He built a new capital, St Petersburg. The Italianate city, a window on Europe, was strategically suited to watch its rival, Sweden, which Peter defeated to gain control of the Baltic.

Peter the Great began the acquisition of the jewels and ornaments that would become associated with the Romanov lifestyle. His reign was notable for other achievements, however. He was responsible for bringing women out of seclusion and inviting them into the activities of the court, which brought elegance to state occasions and a new social dimension to Russian life. He also built the Winter Palace, Peterhof and the Tsarskoye country house. After his death, the throne changed hands seven times in 37 years, not always with such propitious results.

After several short and uneventful rulers, Elizabeth I, Peter's daughter (1709-62), took the throne, assuming a glamorous lifestyle centered on social rather than political events. Her schedule of activities included receptions, banquets, theater, even transvestite balls, all occasions to dress. It is said that on her death 15,000 dresses were found in the royal closet. There were proscribed costumes for each event, to be worn on penalty of fines or seizure of property. An enthusiastic patroness of architecture, she hired an Italian, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, to redo the palaces that Peter built into an elaborate Baroque style to rival the palaces of Europe.

The most famous of the Romanovs, of course, was Catherine II, the Great (1729-96). She followed shortly afterward, when she seized the throne from her husband, Peter III, Elizabeth's nephew. A German-born princess who adopted Russianism, she ushered in a period of extravagant splendor (her reign was dubbed "The Diamond Age"), bringing Western art and culture to the court and the Russian people. She also strengthened the country politically, conquering the Turks to extend the empire to the Black Sea.

Catherine acquired magnificent jewelry. The lavish crown she commissioned for her coronation was used by all of her successors. It was gifted with jewels by political allies as well as lovers.

Her 500 ladies-in-waiting were dressed with equal style and elaborateness, their jewels by Faberge as well as leading Russian craftsmen. Catherine's later jewels reflect the shift to greater simplicity in her own taste, as she came under the intellectual influence of French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. Toward the end of her reign, she redesigned the royal residences in Neoclassical style, again employing Italian architects.

It was Catherine, of course, who amassed the collection of art treasures that fill the Hermitage Museum. She was noted for a succession of lovers that included the brilliant minister Potemkin, who, before dying, named his own successors in the royal boudoir. Although her reacquisition of lost land created a vast empire, her lavish court style and expenditures left the country in dire financial straits.

Romanov life after Catherine was anti-climatic, since neither her son, Paul, (1754-1801) nor his son, Alexander (1777-1825), had much taste for court life. Only with the succession of Alexander's brother, Nicholas I (1796-1855), did society return to its former opulence. His son, Alexander II, (1818-1881) and grandson, Alexander III, (1845-1894) pursued the Romanov lifestyle, holding semiannual open houses for the masses each New Year's Eve and July 1.

Alexander III, it should be mentioned, instituted the celebrated custom of commissioning Faberge eggs to commemorate family occasions. A total of 57 of these were made for the Romanovs. They are the subject of a small complementary exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Within their means, and often beyond it, the Russian people emulated the czars' examples. They became known throughout Europe for their warm hospitality and dazzling manner of dress and entertainment.

All of this ended in 1917, with the rebellion that drove Nicholas II (1868-1918) and his family into exile. They were captured and executed, cutting short both a dynasty and a way of life.

The royal jewels, seized by the state and pressed into service to secure the new Russian currency, were stored and almost lost in the maelstrom of World War I. Recovered in 1922, more than two-thirds of the treasure was secretly sold off at auction and private sales. Only recently have efforts been made to maintain the historic pieces, and to trace and possibly reacquire some of those which were dispersed.

In the post-Stalin era, the Diamond Fund has been enriched by the discovery of diamonds in Siberia. A staff of artisans continue to maintain the value of its holdings by mounting newly mined stones into jewelry more valuable than uncut stones and raw metal, sometimes making copies from photographs of missing Romanov jewels.

Several items in the current exhibition are actually recreations of specific lost objects, or of types of works included in the part of the collection that was dispersed. The stunning Russian Field Diadem, for example, a double-crown of diamonds with a rock-size yellow diamond in its center, was made in 1980.

Examining the Romanov jewels, it is possible to trace succeeding changes in style: Rococo, Byzantine, and Neoclassical. Among Catherine's noteworthy jewels are Caesar's Ruby, a gift from King Gustav III of Sweden. An exquisitely ornate gold and silver rattle-whistle for Paul I is set with diamonds and a piece of coral for teething. An 1800 stickpin originally worn as a ring by his Empress has a blue diamond supposedly cut from Le Tavernier, the same stone as the famed Hope Diamond.

Other stunners include a spectacular brooch with a sapphire centerpiece of more than 260 carats. It was bought by Alexander II for his wife. After his death, he was memorialized for his widow in a Neo-Gothic bracelet that contains an enamel portrait of Alexander under a table-cut, 27-carat diamond.

An entire gallery is devoted to displays of sacred objects in gold and precious stones. Many, in contrast to the European-inspired jewels, clearly show Byzantine influence. These include a meticulously crafted Nineteenth Century crown for an icon, set with a background of thousands of tiny seed pearls, cut and uncut diamonds, and a rainbow assortment of precious and semiprecious stones.

Most of the ecclesiastic objects were made in the monastery city of Yaroslavl, outside Moscow. Yaroslavl's craftsmen were brought to court by Peter the Great to make secular jewelry. Some of the pendants, icons, and gospel books rival in lavishness the objects worn by the czars themselves.

In a showcase of costumes are ceremonial, gold-embroidered court gowns. As a reminder that men were as exquisitely turned out as the women of the court, several elaborate royal uniforms are encrusted with gems. The same type of clothing is depicted in royal portraits that line the gallery walls, often adorned with jewelry very much like the pieces in the showcases.

The State Diamond Fund has also sent over examples of cut and uncut gemstones and chunks of metal ores. Finally, the exhibition includes a showcase of historic documents related to Grand Duke Alexei's visit.

Czar Nicholas I once said, "Nowhere is there a country where there is such a diversity of races, of customs, or religion or mentality as in Russia." One element of that diversity, a civilization of pomp and splendor now lost and certainly never to return, has been brought to life vividly in "The Jewels of the Romanovs." Those interested in a glimpse of that history as well as eye-blinding gems will find it a unique experience.

The Brooklyn Museum of Art is at 200 Eastern Parkway, 718/638-5000. Admission is by reserved ticket only. The exhibition was organized by the Russian Executive Committee of the project "Goodwill Mission: From Past to Future."