This exquisitely beautiful vase is one of the most interesting in the museum collection. It was cut from a single piece of smoky quartz in a finely proportioned ovoid shape. The piece of stone, exceptional for both its size and its colour, was found near Nerchinsk in Siberia. The gilded silver handles take the form of two graceful hovering female figures, whose fine ancient-style clothing seems to be streaming from their rapid movement.
The vase was presented to Emperor Alexander I by Count Stroganov, the president of the Academy of Arts, who was then head of the Peterhof and Yekaterinburg works.
In 1901 it was made the crowning element in a display case containing a collection of Siberian minerals in the Imperial Hermitage’s Jewellery Gallery.