Christmas Gifts
Pieces from the Historical Collections of the Imperial Porcelain and Glass Works of the 18th - Early 20th Centuries

The exhibition opened on 7 December in the Apollo Hall (Room No. 260) of the State Hermitage Museum shows Christmas gifts of the Imperial Family and introduces Christmas traditions of the Winter Palace inhabitants.

The exhibition displays 115 porcelain and glass objects of the 18th - early 20th centuries from the collection of the Hermitage's new department, Museum of the Porcelain Works.

On the Christmas eve, fir trees parties were given at the Winter Palace for the entire household. Court works took part in preparing the celebration. The Christmas exhibition of the Imperial Porcelain and Glass Works was showed at the Palace on 22-24 December. Gifts were put on tables or hung on branches of small fir trees. The Empress took every guest to his or her table to hand in the presents. Then guests proceeded to the hall where stands with vases, cabinets and a long table with porcelain stood. Here a lottery was organized. The Emperor announced the card, while the Empress handed in the porcelain prize. Memoirs of participants of the court Christmas parties often mention mementos received from the Sovereigns: vases, cups or statuettes.

The catalogue of the exhibition includes 62 pages with over 50 full-color illustrations (Propylaea Publishers, St. Petersburg). The catalogue is edited by Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum. The idea and introduction are by the exhibition curator T.V. Kudryavtseva, Director of the Museum of the Porcelain Works.

More

Biscuit Bouquet
1851

One of the exhibition display-cases

At the exhibition