Skip to main content
10.02.2020

This year’s winter membership meeting of the Tsarskoe Selo Friends Society was marked with donations of several artifacts, related mostly to the First World War period.

Ms Amy Ballard, our longtime Friend, specially came from the U.S. to hand over to the Museum an early-twentieth-century commemorative item related to one of Emperor Nicholas II’s daughters and the charitable activities the imperial family members were involved in during the First World War. It is a jeton for donors of the Committee of Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna for the Temporary Relief of Victims of War (a.k.a. the Tatiana Committee).

Depending on donations, such jetons were awarded in silvered bronze and silver. The front side of the 6.3 x 3.8 cm silvered bronze jeton is decorated with the imperial monogram of Tatiana over blue enamel ground. The rear side bears the donor’s engraved name: Alexander Frunza, who was a church composer, teacher and choir conductor and possibly organized or took part in a charitable concert for the Tatiana Committee. Shield-shaped and topped by the imperial crown, the jeton was made in 1915-17 by St. Petersburg's firm Edward, a court purveyor of award jetons, badges and medallions.

Amy Ballard told us, “Several years ago I was on the Internet looking at sites with Russian art and antiques. I saw the jeton and the price fit my budget. Grand Duchess Tatiana was my favorite of Nicholas II’s children and I couldn’t believe that I bought something so closely related to her. I wore it a few times on a silver chain but was always terrified I’d lose it somehow. So I kept it in a box. I had offers to buy it but I never sold it. I wanted to find a good home for it and I did!”

Also related to the Tatiana Committee is another gift, a watercolour on paper sketch of the Committee’s card or poster (possibly 1915) from Mr Sergey Savin, a longtime Friend of Tsarskoe Selo.

Mr Dmitry Matlin, one more longtime Friend of the Museum, donated a WWI-time Bulgarian Bronze Medal for Merit, which had been awarded since the late nineteenth century. Mr Matlins second gift is a 1914–17 photograph showing Olga Constantinovna of Russia, the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I and wife of King George I of Greece, together with sisters of mercy and personnel of a hospital she was patron of.

A remarkable and rare artifact donated by Mr Maxim Revyakin is a commemorative pendant honouring the consecration of Our Lady Feodorovskaya Imperial cathedral favoured by the family of Nicholas II.

Ms Nellie Petrova, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory’s head painter, donated to the Museum a sketch of decoration for the Tsarskoselsky service specially created for the Catherine Palace in 2003. Commissioned by the Russian government to commemorate the Russia–EU Summit during St Petersburg’s tercentenary, the porcelain set was later partially handed over to Tsarskoe Selo.