Inventory of the crown of Anna Ioannovna. Crown of Anna Ioannovna. Coronation robe of Russian empresses. Coronation dresses

Anna Ioannovna (01/28/1693 – 10/17/1740) – Russian empress (Romanov dynasty), daughter of Ivan V, niece of Peter I. Years of reign: 1730-1740, the period was called “Bironovschina”.

Childhood

Anna was born in the Moscow Kremlin, her father is Tsar John V, her mother is Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna. After the death of the Tsar in 1696, the widow with three daughters: Ekaterina, Anna and Praskovya, moved to the Izmailovo estate near Moscow. The two eldest daughters, Maria and Theodosia, died in infancy.

The family had an impressive staff of courtiers. Life in Izmailovo was calm and far from innovation. The residence consisted of two dozen ponds, numerous orchards, vineyards, and greenhouses with overseas flowers. The little princesses studied mathematics, geography, German and French, and dancing. Praskovya Fedorovna cherished only her eldest daughter; her relationship with Anna did not work out.

When Peter in 1708 decided to move all members of the royal family to the capital, Anna with her mother and sisters came to St. Petersburg, where the tsar gave a grand reception. However, they soon returned to Moscow due to the threat from the Swedish army. The family finally moved to St. Petersburg only after the Battle of Poltava; a palace was built especially for them in the capital.

Marriage

During the Northern War, Peter needed to take care of strengthening the influence of his country in the international arena. The Duchy of Courland, to which Russian possessions had approached, was weakened, and after the appearance of the Russian army in Courland, Peter decided to marry a representative of the Russian royal family to the young duke. Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna chose Anna from her daughters.

Despite the fact that in the surviving letter Anna joyfully declares her love to the groom, there is a version that the girl opposed this marriage. The people even have a song about poor Anna, who is given to a foreign land. The marriage did not last long. After the wedding, which took place at the end of 1710 in St. Petersburg, on the way to Courland, Duke Friedrich Wilhelm died in January 1711 from excessive alcoholic libation. The day before, the young husband competed with the king in the art of drinking. Anna returned to her mother.

Duchess of Courland

In 1712, at the behest of Peter, she nevertheless went to Courland, where, according to the marriage contract, she was supposed to live and be provided for accordingly. However, upon arrival in Mitava, the young widow and the diplomat P. Besstuzhev-Ryumin accompanying her discovered complete ruin, the castle was completely plundered. Anna was forced to independently restore the entire situation in order to make it suitable for living.

Later, rumors reached Russia about the connection between the duchess and her assistant Bestuzhev. Praskovya Fedorovna was angry and demanded that he be recalled from Courland. The queen's brother V. Saltykov went to understand the situation, but he could not find a compromise with Bestuzhev and only worsened the already strained relationship between Anna and her mother.

Then the young duchess was supported and protected by Tsarina Catherine, Peter’s wife.

In 1726, Anna received a marriage proposal from the son of the Polish king, Count Moritz, who decided to become the owner of the ducal title. She liked the ambitious and charming Moritz, and she agreed. Having also won over the Courland nobility to his side, he was going to become a duke. This behavior of the count caused alarm on the part of Russia. Prince A. Menshikov, who also had a dukedom in his plans, was sent to Courland. Disappointed Anna tried to gain support from the empress, but nothing worked. Moritz was expelled from Courland, but Menshikov also did not achieve the throne.

Biron - a Courland nobleman of low origin who became regent of the Russian Empire

This situation worsened the situation of the Dowager Duchess, and the angry nobility reduced the already modest expenses for the maintenance of her court. In 1727, Bestuzhev-Ryumin was summoned from Courland to Russia thanks to the efforts of Prince Menshikov, upset by the failure. Anna was very attached to her assistant, and in desperation she wrote more than twenty letters with unsuccessful pleas to leave him.

Soon Ernst Biron, a nobleman serving in the duchess’s office, appears in her life. He completely replaced Besstuzhev. According to rumors, his youngest son Karl, born in 1928, was Anna's child, but there is no exact information on this issue. It is only known that the duchess was strongly attached to Karl Ernst, brought him with her to Russia, and until the age of ten the boy slept in her bedroom.

Coronation of Anna Ioannovna, Assumption Cathedral

Russian Empress

In January 1730, Peter II died, who was going to marry Princess Dolgoruky, but did not have time. The princess's relatives forged the emperor's will, deciding to elevate her to the throne. But the Supreme Privy Council, which met after the death of Peter, did not believe such a will and approved Anna as Empress. At the same time, members of the Council wrote Conditions that significantly limited the possibilities of the future empress in her favor. Anna signed the documents, but by the time she arrived in Moscow, rumors had spread in society about the idea of ​​the Supreme Council. Anna had enough supporters, including the imperial guard.

At the end of February, Prince Cherkassky submitted a petition to the Empress with the signatures of nobles asking to revise the Conditions. In addition, Prince Trubetskoy came with a petition for the restoration of autocracy, and the guard insured the palace and the empress from unrest. As a result, Anna was proclaimed autocratic empress. However, Anna Ioannovna's position remained uncertain. She still did not have a strong political support; various noble groups fought for influence on the empress for two years.

Anna Ioannovna breaks her condition (I. Charlemagne)

The empress herself made few political decisions. Anna's closest adviser was Vice-Chancellor Osterman. Later Biron, Levenwolde, and Minich were called to the imperial court. The Russian aristocracy was dissatisfied with the “German” influence and wanted to remove Osterman. After a two-year confrontation, the “German party” gained the upper hand, but internal disagreements prevented it from becoming a unified political force. Minich and Levenwolde were sent to Poland, and the Empress’s favorite Biron began to promote representatives of his own entourage to the court.

The program of Anna Ioannovna's reign included previously unrealized projects and solutions to pressing problems: reforming the army, restoring the power of the Senate, finalizing the Code, revising the staff of officials, and reforming the fleet. The Supreme Privy Council was dissolved. In 1730, the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs was created, with the goal of preventing conspiracies and coups. As a result of the active work of this body, more than 20 thousand people were sent into exile in Siberia, and about a thousand were executed. The nobles who posed a threat to power were also subjected to cruel executions: the princes Dolgoruky, the cabinet minister Volynsky.

Jesters at the Court of the Empress (W. Jacobi, 1872)

Perhaps, more than state affairs, Anna loved entertainment and beautiful outfits. She was constantly surrounded by jesters, and the expenses for balls, entertainment events and maintenance of the court were enormous. Anna's appearance was pleasant: dark-haired with blue eyes and a large figure. Behavior was appropriate to the position, and actions demonstrated dignity and solemnity. Contemporaries characterize her as generous, power-hungry and capricious. The Empress died in 1740 from gout, bequeathing the throne to the grandson of her sister Catherine, Ivan Antonovich, whose mother, Anna Leopoldovna, was treated as her own daughter. Biron was appointed regent.

The coronation took place on April 28 in the Cathedral Assumption Church with the greatest “pomp.” In the church, “opposite the altar,” a throne under a canopy was built “in picturesque work” “from crimson (red) velvet with braiding and gold fringe, with cords and gold tassels.” Under the canopy, “armchairs decorated with precious stones were placed for Her Imperial Majesty of ancient Persian workmanship.” The path “from the apartments of Her Imperial Majesty to the red porch” and the Assumption, Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals was covered with red cloth.

Empress Anna Ioannovna. Chromolithograph.
Illustration from the book “The Russian Royal House of Romanov.”
Friedenburg edition, 1853.

This entire magnificent celebration was organized, thought out to the smallest detail and played out as a public theatrical performance, which all those present watched according to their class status: foreign and Russian ministers, “Russian generals and civil servants of the same ranks” were located in special places - “at on the western wall of the Cathedral Church, behind the throne, two theater-shaped galleries with railings, upholstered in red cloth, were built.” The Novgorod bishop Feofan Prokopovich placed the crown on Anna Ioannovna and then delivered a congratulatory speech. During the procession of the newly crowned Empress from the Assumption Cathedral, she was followed by Field Marshal General Count Bruce, “who on both sides of the path threw gold and silver tokens at the people; bags with those tokens, sewn from crimson velvet and lined with gold snares and with gilded forged eagles, were carried by state councilors Alexei Zybin and Count Platon Musin-Pushkin.” They also sent Novosiltsev and Baskakov “on horseback” around Moscow “to throw more tokens at the people.”

Then a meal took place in the Faceted Chamber - this “hall of the size and beauty of the best is in the Moscow residence.” Here, too, everything was distinguished by its extraordinary entertainment. For the empress, the table and chairs were placed on a raised platform, and over it, as in the church, a canopy hung. In the chamber “at the door there was a great theater, all covered with crimson velvet and gold braid, on which there was imperial music.” By this time, there was already an excellent orchestra at the court, mainly consisting of Western European musicians, numbering about thirty people. It included a bandmaster, an accompanist, and several composers, some of whom “served” in Russia from the very beginning of the 18th century.

Anna Ioannovna, Empress and
All-Russian autocrat
coronation dress with
scepter and mace
German engraver
Wortman Christian-Albert

Russian Empress
Anna Ioannovna, daughter of the Tsar
Ivan V Alekseevich, niece
Emperor Peter I the Great
Painter Louis Caravaque
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

As in the festivities organized by Peter I, “on the square in front of the Faceted Chamber, on prepared lockers for the people, two roasted bulls, stuffed with different kinds of birds, were placed, and on the sides of those bulls, red and white wine was released from two fountains made, which at the end of Her Majesty table was given to the people for free use.” However, Anna Ioannovna not only did not mix with the crowd, like Peter, but did not even go down to it, but looked in the majestic distance from the window, from where “she deigned to throw gold and silver tokens at the people.”

The celebration “continued over the next seven days with all sorts of joyful fun very gloriously; and all night long throughout Moscow there were fiery illuminations in houses,” and many very knowledgeable people noted that they were “so magnificent that they had never seen anything before.” Particularly extraordinary illuminations were staged in the German Settlement. Some foreign envoys were generous with the construction of the Triumphal Gate and arches, “at which during the procession of Her Majesty they played trumpets, and those ministers themselves, standing in front of their apartments, bowed and congratulated Her Majesty.” All of Moscow went to see the arch of the Spanish envoy, built in the “Doric style” with twelve columns and four statues depicting Power, Mercy, Glory and Religion. “All this was made of strong wood, painted like marble, illuminated with seven thousand lights and had a height of up to thirty arshins.”

On all the days of the holidays, the Empress Empress, accompanied by numerous people, either “amused herself in the chambers” in the Kremlin, then “deigned to go for a walk in her summer house, called Golovinsky,” or walked “through the German Settlement.” On May 3, the “triumphant” coronation was shown a new entertainment: in the Kremlin, “on the square from the Red Porch to the bell tower of Ivan the Great, a rope was stretched, even to a large bell, whose height from the ground is perpendicular to fourteen and a half fathoms, and a Persian walked on it; and, pleased with his dancing and other amusements, he went back down.” This performance was repeated the next day - May 4, and there were already two Persians: Kul Murza and his son Novurzaley Shima Amet Kula Murza. At six o’clock on the same day, Anna Ioannovna “deigned with her high family and noble persons to go to the golden chamber, where music was prepared,” and those present danced in front of the imperial eyes until the eighth hour. In the evening there was a fireworks display.

Thus passed the first week of celebrations; they, in fact, stretched out for two whole years. This happened because immediately after the death of Peter II, mourning was declared for a year: three months - “deep mourning”, when it was still necessary to cover carriages in black, and in houses to upholster one or two “chambers” with mourning fabric; the next three months are “not such deep mourning” and the next six are “chamber mourning.” During the year, while the coronation was being celebrated, not all “fun” was allowed. In particular, masquerades and comedies were not held.

All this turned out to be possible after Anna Ioannovna celebrated the anniversary of her accession to the throne in January 1731, and entertainment came in a new wave, or rather, a flurry. The main event was the “great masquerade”. They had been preparing for it since the end of 1730, and in order to give the balls a greater European gloss, back in August the dance master Vilim Igins was accepted into the service of the “English nation” at the court: he taught “the dancing of ladies-in-waiting, chambers of pages and pages,” but especially of chamber-pages— “four days a week, and each day for four hours.”

For almost a month, the masquerade tornado drove and circled around Moscow, along with the February snow whirlwinds, the entire Russian court and those close to it. All participants in the masquerade were divided into “4 classes” (groups); each of them had one type of costume on one day or another: for example, first in the “first class”, where the empress herself was with her court staff, everyone put on “Persian attire”; foreign ministers belonged to the “second class” - they appeared “in Swiss”; and the other two “were in Venetian attire.” The next time, “the masquerade dress changed” and the imperial court appeared “in the Spanish attire”, foreign ministers - “dressed in the likeness of Parliamentary members”, “local ministers” (classified as 3rd class) - “in the Venetian gentry”, “the generals - in Turkish dress." One might have thought that the newly-minted empress, not yet accustomed to the position of autocrat in which she unexpectedly found herself, seemed to be trying to play with the sovereign scepter, like a magic wand, forcing everyone around her to appear in one guise, then in another, and thereby realized the true possibilities of her exceptional position as a monarch. (By this time, she had already destroyed the “conditions” that limited her autocracy.) Chinese ambassadors were present at one of the masquerades. They were asked: “Does this kind of entertainment seem strange to you?” They answered that no, because “everything here is a masquerade.” But the most surprising thing for them is “to see a woman on the throne!”

Placed under the cross, it weighs one hundred grams. When making the crown, techniques such as casting, chasing, carving and gilding were used. Crown height 31.3 cm.

Story

The meeting of the coronation commission on March 12 of the year decided to create two new crowns for the empress Anna Ioannovna: Great Imperial (for coronation), and Small (for other ceremonies). Their images can be seen in the coronation album published in the same year. . On the tenth day of March of the year, soldiers are sent through the Moscow suburbs to gather “silversmiths and minters for the cause of the crown of Her Imperial Majesty.” Diamond craftsman Ivan Shmit and goldsmiths took part in the work on these crowns. Samson Larionov(he also created the first Russian imperial crown Catherine I), Nikita Milyukov and Kalina Afanasyev, silversmith Pyotr Semenov, goldsmith Luka Fedorov and bookbinders Ivan Matfeev and Vadim Alekseev.

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Notes

1. Royal weddings and coronations in the Moscow Kremlin. Part 2. XVIII–XIX centuries. - M., 2013. - P. 190.
2. Bykova Yu. I. On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Peter's time in faces - 2013. To the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov (1613–2013). Proceedings of the State Hermitage. T. LXX. - St. Petersburg, 2013. - P. 105.
3. Bykova Yu. I. On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Peter's time in faces - 2013. To the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov (1613–2013). Proceedings of the State Hermitage. T. LXX. - St. Petersburg, 2013. - pp. 102–114.
4. Troinitsky S. N. Coronation regalia // Diamond Fund. - M., 1925. Issue. 2. - P. 11.
5. Bykova Yu. I. . On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Peter's time in faces - 2013. To the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov (1613–2013). Proceedings of the State Hermitage. T. LXX. - St. Petersburg, 2013. - pp. 102–114; Bykova Yu. I. . On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Moscow Kremlin in the state life of Russia. Abstracts of reports. Anniversary scientific conference Moscow Kremlin Museums, October 31 – November 1, 2013. - M., 2013. - pp. 17–19.
6. Bykova Yu. I. On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Peter's Time in Persons - 2013. Collection of articles. State Hermitage. - St. Petersburg, 2013. - P. 107.
7. Description of the coronation of Her Majesty the Empress and Autocrat of All Russia Anna Ioannovna, solemnly sent to the reigning city of Moscow on April 28, 1730. - M., 1730.
8. Kuznetsova L.K. About the “Vodoksha lala” under the cross of the Great Crown of Anna Ioannovna // Examination and attribution of works of fine art. Materials 2001. - M., 2003. - P. 175–182; Kuznetsova L.K. St. Petersburg jewelers. Eighteenth century, diamond... - St. Petersburg, 2009. - P. 93.
9. Jerzy Gutkowski.. Radio Poland (October 9, 2012).

Sources

1. Troinitsky S. N. Coronation regalia // Diamond Fund. M., 1925. Issue. 2.
2. Description of the coronation of Her Majesty the Empress and Autocrat of All Russia Anna Ioannovna, solemnly sent to the reigning city of Moscow on April 28, 1730. M., 1730.
3. Kuznetsova L.K. About the “Vodoksha lala” under the cross of the Great Crown of Anna Ioannovna // Examination and attribution of works of fine art. Materials 2001. M., 2003. pp. 175–182.
4. Kuznetsova L.K. St. Petersburg jewelers. Eighteenth century, diamond... St. Petersburg, 2009.
5. Bykova Yu. I. On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Peter's time in faces - 2013. To the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov (1613–2013). Proceedings of the State Hermitage. T. LXX. - St. Petersburg, 2013. - pp. 102–114.
6. Bykova Yu. I. On the question of the authorship of the coronation regalia of Empress Anna Ioannovna // Moscow Kremlin in the state life of Russia. Abstracts of reports. Anniversary scientific conference Moscow Kremlin Museums, October 31 – November 1, 2013. M., 2013. pp. 17–19.
7. Royal weddings and coronations in the Moscow Kremlin. Part 2. XVIII–XIX centuries. M., 2013.

An excerpt characterizing Anna Ioannovna's Crown

Berg had already been a groom for more than a month and only a week remained before the wedding, and the count had not yet resolved the issue of the dowry with himself and had not spoken about it with his wife. The count either wanted to separate Vera’s Ryazan estate, or wanted to sell the forest, or to borrow money against a bill of exchange. A few days before the wedding, Berg entered the count's office early in the morning and, with a pleasant smile, respectfully asked his future father-in-law to tell him what would be given to Countess Vera. The Count was so embarrassed by this long-anticipated question that he thoughtlessly said the first thing that came to his mind.
- I love that you took care, I love you, you will be satisfied...
And he, patting Berg on the shoulder, stood up, wanting to end the conversation. But Berg, smiling pleasantly, explained that if he did not know correctly what would be given for Vera, and did not receive in advance at least part of what was assigned to her, then he would be forced to refuse.
- Because think about it, Count, if I now allowed myself to get married without having certain means to support my wife, I would act basely...
The conversation ended with the count, wanting to be generous and not be subjected to new requests, saying that he was issuing a bill of 80 thousand. Berg smiled meekly, kissed the count on the shoulder and said that he was very grateful, but now he could not get settled in his new life without receiving 30 thousand in clear money. “At least 20 thousand, Count,” he added; - and the bill then was only 60 thousand.
“Yes, yes, okay,” the count began quickly, “just excuse me, my friend, I’ll give you 20 thousand, and in addition a bill for 80 thousand.” So, kiss me.

Natasha was 16 years old, and the year was 1809, the same year that four years ago she had counted on her fingers with Boris after she kissed him. Since then she has never seen Boris. In front of Sonya and with her mother, when the conversation turned to Boris, she spoke completely freely, as if it was a settled matter, that everything that happened before was childish, which was not worth talking about, and which had long been forgotten. But in the deepest depths of her soul, the question of whether the commitment to Boris was a joke or an important, binding promise tormented her.
Ever since Boris left Moscow for the army in 1805, he had not seen the Rostovs. He visited Moscow several times, passed near Otradny, but never visited the Rostovs.
It sometimes occurred to Natasha that he did not want to see her, and these guesses were confirmed by the sad tone in which the elders used to say about him:
“In this century they don’t remember old friends,” the countess said after the mention of Boris.
Anna Mikhailovna, who had been visiting the Rostovs less often lately, also behaved with particular dignity, and every time she spoke enthusiastically and gratefully about the merits of her son and about the brilliant career he was on. When the Rostovs arrived in St. Petersburg, Boris came to visit them.
He went to them not without excitement. The memory of Natasha was Boris's most poetic memory. But at the same time, he traveled with the firm intention of making it clear to both her and her family that the childhood relationship between him and Natasha could not be an obligation for either her or him. He had a brilliant position in society, thanks to his intimacy with Countess Bezukhova, a brilliant position in the service, thanks to the patronage of an important person, whose trust he fully enjoyed, and he had nascent plans to marry one of the richest brides in St. Petersburg, which could very easily come true . When Boris entered the Rostovs' living room, Natasha was in her room. Having learned about his arrival, she, flushed, almost ran into the living room, beaming with a more than affectionate smile.
Boris remembered that Natasha in a short dress, with black eyes shining from under her curls and with a desperate, childish laugh, whom he knew 4 years ago, and therefore, when a completely different Natasha entered, he was embarrassed, and his face expressed enthusiastic surprise. This expression on his face delighted Natasha.
- So, do you recognize your little friend as a naughty girl? - said the countess. Boris kissed Natasha's hand and said that he was surprised by the change that had taken place in her.
- How prettier you have become!
“Of course!” answered Natasha’s laughing eyes.
- Has dad gotten older? – she asked. Natasha sat down and, without entering into Boris’s conversation with the countess, silently examined her childhood fiancé down to the smallest detail. He felt the weight of this persistent, affectionate gaze on himself and occasionally glanced at her.
The uniform, the spurs, the tie, Boris’s hairstyle, all this was the most fashionable and comme il faut [quite decent]. Natasha noticed this now. He sat slightly sideways on the armchair next to the countess, straightening the clean, stained glove on his left with his right hand, spoke with a special, refined pursing of his lips about the amusements of the highest St. Petersburg society and with gentle mockery recalled the old Moscow times and Moscow acquaintances. It was not by chance, as Natasha felt, that he mentioned, naming the highest aristocracy, about the envoy's ball, which he had attended, about the invitations to NN and SS.
Natasha sat silently the whole time, looking at him from under her brows. This look bothered and embarrassed Boris more and more. He looked back at Natasha more often and paused in his stories. He sat for no more than 10 minutes and stood up, bowing. The same curious, defiant and somewhat mocking eyes looked at him. After his first visit, Boris told himself that Natasha was just as attractive to him as before, but that he should not give in to this feeling, because marrying her, a girl with almost no fortune, would be the ruin of his career, and resuming a previous relationship without the goal of marriage would be an ignoble act. Boris decided with himself to avoid meeting with Natasha, but, despite this decision, he arrived a few days later and began to travel often and spend whole days with the Rostovs. It seemed to him that he needed to explain himself to Natasha, to tell her that everything old should be forgotten, that, despite everything... she could not be his wife, that he had no fortune, and she would never be given for him. But he still didn’t succeed and it was awkward to begin this explanation. Every day he became more and more confused. Natasha, as her mother and Sonya noted, seemed to be in love with Boris as before. She sang him his favorite songs, showed him her album, forced him to write in it, did not allow him to remember the old, making him understand how wonderful the new was; and every day he left in a fog, without saying what he intended to say, not knowing what he was doing and why he had come, and how it would end. Boris stopped visiting Helen, received reproachful notes from her every day, and still spent whole days with the Rostovs.

One evening, when the old countess, sighing and groaning, in a nightcap and blouse, without false curls, and with one poor tuft of hair protruding from under a white calico cap, was making prostrations for evening prayer on the rug, her door creaked, and Natasha ran in, shoes on her bare feet, also in a blouse and curlers. The Countess looked around and frowned. She finished reading her last prayer: “Will this coffin be my bed?” Her prayerful mood was destroyed. Natasha, red and animated, seeing her mother at prayer, suddenly stopped in her run, sat down and involuntarily stuck out her tongue, threatening herself. Noticing that her mother continued her prayer, she ran on tiptoe to the bed, quickly sliding one small foot over the other, kicked off her shoes and jumped onto the bed for which the countess was afraid that it might not be her coffin. This bed was tall, made of feather beds, with five ever-decreasing pillows. Natasha jumped up, sank into the feather bed, rolled over to the wall and began fiddling around under the blanket, laying down, bending her knees to her chin, kicking her legs and laughing barely audibly, now covering her head, now looking at her mother. The Countess finished her prayer and approached the bed with a stern face; but, seeing that Natasha had her head covered, she smiled her kind, weak smile.

Coronation dresses. Most of this article is devoted to Russian empresses. Well, not exactly them, but their magnificent dresses made of precious fabrics, embroidered with silver threads and decorated with lace. Stop! The lace on the coronation dresses was not preserved, or almost not preserved. In any case, these beautiful vestments are much more beautiful and interesting than the current “Haute couture” samples, not to mention “Casual”.

Coronation dresses in the State Armory Chamber of the Kremlin

The imperial vestments are kept in the Armory Chamber, because originally it was a workshop where precious items of the sovereign's household items were made and stored.

Coronation festivities have always taken place in Moscow, which is why the tradition of donating the coronation robes of emperors to the collection of the Armory Chamber arose here.
There are five such collections in the world; the Moscow collection is not the largest among them. The most representative selection of imperial costumes is presented in Sweden. There are similar meetings in London, in the Tower Castle. In Vienna, in the Hofburg Palace you can see the coronation costumes of the Holy Roman Emperors. Another collection exists in Denmark.

There are 17 costumes stored in the Armory, 10 of them are for ladies. The uniqueness of the Moscow collection is that it is quite complete and allows you to trace the change in traditions and fashion.
The exhibition, in addition to coronation dresses, presents the wardrobe of Peter II, one wedding dress and two fancy dress costumes. In addition, many clothes of Russian emperors are kept in the funds of the Armory Chamber.

Coronation of Catherine I. Coronation dresses

The first coronation of the empress in Russian history took place in May 1724. It was from this date that the tradition of donating ceremonial vestments to the Armory Chamber arose. Peter decided to crown his second wife, Catherine I. He himself was not crowned as emperor. Undoubtedly, preparations were made for the coronation ceremony in advance. Peter, traveling around Europe, observed and studied the traditions of the coronation of European monarchs.
Especially for this event, in November 1723, Peter issued the highest manifesto on the coronation of his wife.

Marta Skavronskaya

The future Russian Empress Marta Skavronskaya was born in 1684. In 1708 she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Catherine, and in 1712 she became the wife of Peter. Despite her low origins, she occupied a fairly strong position at court thanks to her intelligence, tact and cheerful disposition. The coronation was necessary for many reasons. In this way, the prestige of the Russian court increased, because in Europe the ignoble origin of the wife of the Russian Tsar was no secret. Peter thought about the future of his daughters Elizabeth and Anna. To give daughters the title of princess, both parents must be emperors.

The shape for the imperial crown was chosen similar to those used to crown European sovereigns. The two hemispheres signify ecclesiastical authority, they are similar to the miter of church hierarchs. The raised stripe between the two hemispheres means secular power, which rises above the spiritual and governs the state.

Coronation dress I. (Coronation in 1724). Coronation dresses

The dress for the Empress was ordered in Berlin. Berlin at that time was the European center of embroidery. The dress was embroidered with silver thread using various techniques.
What was brought to Russia was not a finished dress, but a “cartridge”. A “cartridge” is a clothing pattern that is held together with seams in only a few places. Usually men's clothing was brought in the form of "cartridges". Apparently, in Berlin they were very afraid of not guessing the size of the suit, so they decided to play it safe and not fasten the clothes with seams, so that it would be possible to fit it to the figure.


Catherine's dress was delivered three days before the coronation and was completed in a hurry. Indeed, German dressmakers greatly exaggerated the size of the Russian Empress; the skirt turned out to be too wide. The Russian court seamstresses were in such a hurry that the fold behind the skirt was done very sloppily. As a result, the pockets were so misaligned that they were unusable. And the pockets in the ladies' toilet were very necessary and functional.
Roba - this is how the foreign envoy to the Russian court called the empress’s outfit. “She was wearing a magnificent robe, crimson, embroidered with silver thread,” he wrote in the report.

The entire costume consists of several parts - the bodice, skirt and train are separate parts of the costume. The folds along the bottom of the bodice are called “picadils” - they were invented by tailors in order to hide the connection of the skirt and bodice. The bodice is rigid, all quilted with whalebone. The Empress's waist circumference is 97 cm.

Parts of a woman's dress from the 18th century

The myth that a corset could double the waist is not true. In fact, the maximum you can stretch to is 5-6 cm. Girls were taught to wear corsets from childhood. It was very difficult to breathe in them; the rigid corsets squeezed the lungs and did not allow us to breathe deeply. Due to stagnation of air in the lungs (in fact, due to corsets), ladies often got sick and died from tuberculosis.

The tablet is a front, triangular plate - an overlay on the bodice. It was made separately; at that time this detail was very fashionable.
The lace trim on the dress has not been preserved. Lace decorated the neckline and short sleeves. They were so expensive that they were most likely torn down to be reused in other toilets, since the coronation dress was worn only once in a lifetime.
The lower part of the dress is called “panier” - literally “basket” in French. The shape of the skirt was maintained with the help of numerous petticoats that have not survived to this day. The current shape of the skirt is the result of the work of restorers.

Embroidery on dresses. Coronation dresses

Embroidery technique on the skirt - attached. A sketch was made on the fabric. This sketch was covered with threads and only the top was embroidered with silver thread. The appliqué technique was also used – applied embroidered crowns. They do not match the shape of a real crown. Its shape was kept in the strictest confidence; the craftswomen did not know what the crown would be like and embroidered it according to their imagination. The tablet is embroidered using the most difficult technique - on a backing or card.

Cotton wool or fabric was placed under the embroidery design, and silver was embroidered on top. This type of embroidery was done by men. The craft of embroidery was highly valued in Europe, it was prestigious and men did not disdain it.

The dress is not very long. The length of the skirt was designed so that when walking, a foot in a shoe with a beautiful crimson ribbon-bow tied around the ankle would be shown.

Coronation robe of Russian empresses. Coronation dresses

During the coronation, Catherine wore a robe over her dress, but it has not survived. The collection of the Armory Chamber presents a late ermine robe of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II.

The ends of the robe were fastened with a diamond buckle. It's called agraf. A real detective story is connected with the agraph made for the coronation of Catherine I.

There were very few good jewelers at that time. One of them, named Rokentin, assumed that he would receive a coronation order from the king. Rokentin made an excellent agraf. But the master himself liked the work so much that he did not want to part with it. He persuaded the dashing people and staged an attack and theft, even asking them to leave bruises and abrasions on their bodies. Agraf hid it. Peter conducted an investigation and discovered the deception. At that time, Rokentin was not punished very severely: he was not executed, but simply exiled to Siberia.

Masquerade costume of Catherine I. Coronation dresses

In 1723, a public masquerade was held in Moscow in honor of the anniversary of the Peace of Nystadt. It took place on Maslenitsa and lasted several days. Many courtiers dressed in Russian costumes; among the masks there were even characters from the Most Jolly and Most Drunken Cathedral.

Catherine dressed in an Amazon costume. Accompanying Peter on many military campaigns, she undoubtedly had the right to do so. From the point of view of 18th-century fashion, her travesty is a man's suit, even despite the skirt. The look was completed with a hat and a sword on the side. Camisoles, similar to the top part of the outfit, were worn by men throughout Europe. This fancy dress costume was made in Moscow. They say that it was made from a tablecloth because good fabrics were very expensive. The costume was decorated with an ostrich feather, which was borrowed from the Holstein ambassador, but was not returned. Diplomatic correspondence has been preserved, in which the envoy persistently asks for the pen to be returned to him.
In 1728 it took place coronation of the 12-year-old emperor, who went down in Russian history under the name of Peter II.

Coronation costume of Peter II . Coronation dresses

His coronation suit was made from glazet: expensive and heavy brocade fabric. This camisole is NOT presented in the main exhibition; it is in the collections. The young sovereign died in January 1730, not even reaching the age of 15. They suspect. that Peter II died of smallpox.
His entire wardrobe is kept in the Armory. The boy grew very quickly and outgrew his clothes, barely having time to put them on.

The display case presents almost the entire wardrobe of a Russian nobleman of the first half of the 18th century. The most interesting is the men's robe. It is called a dressing gown, it was sewn from patterned French silk.

Wardrobe of Emperor Peter II

At that time, there was a special fashion for drinking coffee in a dressing gown in the morning.
The ceremonial men's camisoles made for Peter II are also presented here. France, where these outfits were sewn, formed the standard of men's fashion for all of Europe. The fashion for such camisoles lasted almost 100 years until the end of the 18th century. Men's camisoles were made from bright fabrics; their color even rivaled women's dresses.

Fan

In the 18th century, there was a special language of gestures and accessories. For example, with the help of a fan one could explain oneself without saying a word. There was a special sign language and noble maidens were required to teach it. By opening and closing the fan, one could conduct a dialogue with the gentleman. An open fan with a mask in the collection of the Armory Chamber means: “The lady’s heart is occupied”; the gentleman should count only on friendly relations.

Moreover, all gestures must be very fast so that others do not notice what signs the lady is giving to the gentleman.

Coronation of Anna Ioannovna

Coronation of Anna Ioannovna took place in April 1730, two months after her arrival in Russia from Courland. (A fragment of the fan can be seen in the photo below).

Anna Ioannovna's coronation dress. Coronation dresses

sewn in Russia from Lyon brocade. It was sewn by a tailor whom Anna brought with her.
The tablet on her dress is not very prominent, this detail is starting to go out of fashion as well as embroidery. The original dress was a very beautiful pink-terracotta color. But the dye turned out to be unstable and the dress faded over time. The train is unusual, triangular in shape. The lace trim on the neckline and sleeves has not been preserved.

Displayed nearby

Coronation dress of Elizabeth Petrovna. Coronation dresses

This dress is the only thing reminiscent of the events of the winter of 1741, because Elizabeth Petrovna’s crown has not survived to this day. The dress was made in Russia from Russian brocade. Elizaveta Petrovna specifically decided to wear a dress made of domestic precious fabric to support Russian industrialists. The Empress also ordered her court ladies to appear at the coronation in dresses made from domestic fabric.


After the coronation, the dress could be viewed in the Chamber of Facets. During the time the imperial robe was presented there, 37 thousand people watched it. People of all classes were allowed to watch, except for the most vile, that is, serfs.

Skirt design. Coronation dresses

The dress is made of brocade fabric called “glazet”. By the early 40s, ladies' fashion had changed and the skirt became prohibitively wide. This is a manifestation of the Rococo style that was dominant at that time. The width of the figs corresponded to the court rank. The Empress personally ensured that none of the court ladies wore hose wider than required. Wearing such wide skirts was extremely uncomfortable. It was impossible to get into a carriage in them, and in palaces the doorways had to be specially widened. It was impossible to even sit in them, so the ladies simply lay down on the floor to rest, and a special maid of honor, standing at the door, guarded their peace. Corsets were made from different materials - metal, willow twigs. The most expensive corsets were made from whalebone.

They even came up with special levers that adjusted the width of the skirt. If the ladies found out that the empress herself would be present at the ball, they could use a lever to lower their hoops and reduce the width of their skirt.
Officially, Elizaveta Petrovna was not married and already in 1744 she invited her nephew, the son of her sister Anna, to the court. Soon the heir's bride, Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, also arrived in St. Petersburg. In 1745, their wedding took place in the Winter Palace.

Wedding dress of the future Empress Catherine II. Coronation dresses

made of silver brocade. Silver darkens greatly over the years, and new brocade looks very impressive, shimmering with reflections of candlelight and glare of sunlight. It seemed that such dresses were forged from silver, and not sewn with needles and threads. The dress was embroidered with silver thread. The embroidery stitches were placed at different angles and when moved, the dress shone like diamonds.

The wedding dress of Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst is in very poor condition. Brocade is woven on a silk warp with silver weft. The silk threads were torn in many places and the silver threads sagged.
Sovereign Pavel Petrovich donated the dress to the collection of the Armory Chamber for an unknown reason, since it was originally kept in the capital. The dress was torn apart, the restorers sewed it again.
In 1762, the coronation of Catherine II took place.

Coronation dress of Catherine II. Coronation dresses

also on display at the Armory. It is distinguished by oval figs. In addition, this dress is the only one on which lace is preserved. The dress is decorated with double-headed eagles, there are about 300 of them throughout the field.

Apparently, in such a visible way, Catherine wanted to emphasize the legality of her accession to the throne.

The Empress was distinguished by a very thin waist for her 33 years, with a circumference of only 62 cm. In this dress, the tailors used a new design detail - the so-called schnig. It is assumed that he was supposed to visually make the stomach flatter.

Coronation of the imperial couple. Men's coronation suit. Coronation dresses

After the death of Catherine II, for the first time in the history of the Russian Empire, an imperial couple, the emperor and empress, Paul I and his wife, were crowned. This ceremony borrowed much from the 1724 ceremony. First, the crown was placed on the emperor, then, turning to the kneeling empress (just like Catherine I before Peter), Paul touched her with his crown and then placed a small imperial crown on the head of his wife. Unlike the large imperial crown, which was the property of the state, the small crown became the property of the empress. Her Majesty could dispose of the small crown at will, even transform it into other jewelry.

From the beginning of the 19th century, emperors began to be crowned in a military uniform. It was either a guards general's uniform or the uniform of a general of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The Armory Chamber has preserved 7 sets of coronation military uniforms.

Coronation dress of Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I. Coronation dresses

The dress is made in a transitional style from Empire to Historicism.

A special rula was passed along the bottom of the dress to make the bottom of the dress heavier and maintain the bell shape. The dress is embroidered with colored glass plates to make it shine and shimmer.
In the middle of the century they began to wear the so-called French sundress. This was an order from Emperor Nicholas I for the ladies of the court to wear Russian dress.
Gloves were an indispensable addition to the costume. They were changed very often, each courtier had many gloves. They did not last long, quickly stretched, and lost their shape. And the shape of the gloves was carefully monitored; they had to fit the hand like a second skin, so the expression “change like gloves” is quite appropriate. Gloves were made from elk skin or silk.

Coronation dress of Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II. Coronation dresses

is the above-mentioned French sundress. Stylistically, this dress can be attributed to the national revival or “Russian style”. It was sewn in St. Petersburg. For the first time, sleeves appeared on the coronation dress. The wide placket that was sewn in front of the dress and made it look like a sundress has not been preserved. The plank was decorated with diamonds, diamonds and other precious stones, so it was quarried. The costume also included a kokoshnik, also decorated with diamonds.

The Last Coronation

G ornostaic mantle, presented in the Armory Chamber belonged to Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II. All 14 coronation robes have been preserved in the collections of the Kremlin museums. Alexandra Feodorovna's robe was made from 800 ermine skins, they were purchased from Siberian merchants.

The last coronation took place in May 1896. Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna were crowned. Nikolai was dressed in the uniform of a colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment. He was not a general, which is why he was embarrassed to put on a general’s uniform.