Treasures of Catherine the Great: From the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg - Softcover

Professor Mikhail B. Piotrovski; Geraldine Norman

9780500975978: Treasures of Catherine the Great: From the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500975973 ISBN 13: 9780500975978

Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2000

Catherine the Great was one of the greatest and most astute art collectors of all time. During her reign she amassed an astonishing collection, now kept in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia's foremost museum and one of the world's great encyclopaedic collections of art. This catalogue is tied to the year-long exhibition running at the first 'foreign branch' of the State Hermitage, opening this year at Somerset House in London. Reproduced here are some of the finest holdings in Catherine II's cache of treasures, including a cornucopia of engraved gems and cameos from her personal collection; the magnificent jewel cabinets that she ordered from Germany and England; figures from a porcelain service given to Catherine by Frederick the Great of Russia; Catherine's wig, made entirely of fine silver thread-the first time this has ever been exhibited in public; and many notable Old Masters, among them Moses Striking the Rock by Nicholas Poussin. Each item is accompanied by a brief explanatory essay and details of provenance.

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About the Author:

Professor Mikhail Piotrovski is Director of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

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