1: "Realms of the Eagle"

The room belonged to the apartments of Countess Maria Nesselrode but its original decor has not survived. The display in the room concentrates on the political and artistic significance of the image of the eagle as a symbol of the Empire style. The eagle featured in the coats of arms of Russia, Austria, Prussia and France. In the Empire style art the eagle became an element of decoration. Portraits of Napoleon and Alexander I, central figures of the era, and the painting Napoleon and Alexader I Bid Farewell after the Peace of Tilsit on 9 July 1807 introduce visitors to the historical atmosphere of the time. Banners and standards of the Russian and French armies can be seen in the room together with dress weapons, gilded bronze candelabra produced by the famous bronze artist Pierre Philippe Thomire (Paris, first quarter of the 19th century) and the Studies and Vigilance clock (Paris, 1798). The top of the gueridon table is decorated with the French Imperial Eagle in the laurel wreath (workshop of the Jacob-frères (brothers), Paris, c.1803).