29.01.2026
Until 16 February the Catherine Palace houses the exhibition Gifts from Museum Friends showcasing over 80 of more than 150 objects donated by or obtained in 2025 thanks to members of our Museum's Friends Society which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year.
On display are watercolours, dolls, chairs, a bronze sculpture, nineteenth-century cold weapons, early twentieth-century firearms, photographs, and porcelain pieces of the famous Raphael Service.
Particularly noteworthy:
- Pieces of the Black Eagles crystal glass set by St Petersburg's Imperial Glass Factory, made in 1912–15 for the Romanov Tercentenary. Very important for our collection because the set was not evacuated in 1941 but looted during the Nazi occupation.
Donated by Mikhail Karisalov
- Several objects from an auction related to the Russian court physician Yevgeny Botkin, who followed the last tsar's family to Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg and was murdered together with them by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Including:
- Dr Botkin's portrait photograph;
- Teddy bear and drawings of his son Gleb; the toy bear travelled together with Gleb and his sister Tatiana to Siberia, the Far East, Japan and France, and now, more than a century later, is back at Tsarskoe Selo were the Botkin family used to live;
- Documents handwritten by Tatiana Botkina, including Le Case "Anastasia" (The "Anastasia" Case).
Purchased with donations from Gerofarm Ltd., D.V. Kryuchkov, Y.N. Nistratov, E.D. Pahorukova, Sybille Kreft, Moskovsky Department Store, Oleg Bahrushin, A.B. Rahmatullina, V.Y. Zhilkin, S.A. Gashimova
- A 1914 silver commemorative for the 20th anniversary of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fёdorovna's wedding, with their gelatin silver bromide print.
Donated by O.A. Sharoglazov
- French and possibly Russian and Chinese hand-held fans of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Donated by I.K. Efremova
- Early 20th-century everyday objects and tools, such as a Russian cigar case, a Russian name card holder, American and British shaving accessories, a French compass, a German microscope, and other artifacts.
Donated by A.V. Vodenko, Vladislav Zverev, S.N. Zakroishchikov, A.A. Prokofiev, A.E. Lelyanov, P.V. Klimov, N.Y. Zhernakova
- Early 20th-century German dolls by Simon y Halbig and Kammar & Reinhardt, and a French Bèbè Olga doll with a porcelain head by Armand Marseille, Germany.
Donated by S.V. Pchelnikova
- Porcelain pieces such as two early 20th-century Wedgwood vases, a 1897-1922 Royal Copenhagen vase decorated with a rose and butterflies, a 1783-93 Caughley coffee cup and saucer.
Donated by A.A. Borisov, D.A. Yuzov, M.A. Revyakin, Pavel Abramov
- Books of 1915 and 1916 by George Loukomski, Head of the Art and History Commission of Tsarskoe Selo in 1917-18.
Donated by N.V. Egorova
- Landscape with a Balustrade, a watercolour of 1900-1910 by Alexandra Schneider.
Donated by V.A. Semyonov
- An 1840s Russian miracle lamp with a lithophane by Meissen, Germany. This beautiful object will grace the Crimson Drawing Room which is currently being reconstructed in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo.
Purchased with donations from Moskovsky Department Store - Pieces of the Raphael Service, the most impressive gala set produced specially for Tsarskoe Selo at St Petersburg's Imperial Porcelain Manufactory during the late 19th to early 20th century.
Donated by Mikhail Karisalov
The exhibition is included in Catherine Palace Tour 1
