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CABINET

Creator(s): Ippolit Antonovich Monigetti (Designer) , Firm of Nicholls and Plincke (Maker) , Imperial Peterhof Lapidary Factory (Manufacturer)

On view in: Icon Room


About this object

The chest was a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary gift from Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna to the Emperor’s brother, the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and his wife, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, Monigetti, the designer of the cabinet, was the court architect to Alexander II. When Marjorie Merriweather Post bought it in the Soviet Union, four enameled medallions decorated the front panels. When it was delivered, these had been removed. Post ordered lapis panels to replace them.

This ebonized wood chest with four doors is lavishly decorated in the neo-Renaissance style with gilt bronze mounts affixed to lapis lazuli panels. On the doors a framed and carved lapis oval is attached to the center of each floral and scroll design. Similar panels decorate the sides of the chest as well. At the top, a medallion of gesso painted blue contains the interlaced initials K and A of Grand Duke Konstantin and his wife Alexandra. Supported by two rampant griffins, the medallion is surmounted by the Cap of Monomakh, the old tsarist crown of Russia. The dates 1848 30 August and 1873 30 August are inscribed in Cyrillic on two gilded bands that hang below this medallion.

Object name:
CABINET
Made from:
Ebonized wood -- lapis lazuli -- gilt bronze
Made in:
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Date made:
1873
Size:
215.9 x 109.5 cm (85 x 43 1/8 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
32.22
Class:
FURNITURE
Signature marks:
MONOGRAM in Cyrillic A K [On top] INSCRIPTION in Cyrillic: 1848 god 30 avgust 1873 god 30 avgust ( 1848 year 30 August 1873 year 30 August) [On top]
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973