The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions

There are around 200 items in the Hermitage's collection of English silver. The most numerous and best part dates back to the 18th century. The special character of this collection arises from the fact that nearly every item is a masterpiece of the jeweller's art.

Most of the articles in the collection once belonged to the imperial family. The Russian princes and tsars were always known for their love of luxury. Almost all foreigner visitors to Russia during the 16th and 17th centuries wrote about the gold and silver utensils which abundantly decorated the banqueting tables in the princely rooms.

A great deal changed with the ascension to the throne of Peter the Great. The solemn receptions and strict protocol at banquet tables gave way to assemblies and masquerades. A new way of life and new customs brought with them changes in dress, furnishings and articles of daily use. But if the tsar himself practiced severity and even asceticism in daily life, his retinue departed from the simplicity of his habits and restored the former sumptuousness of life at court, though in a new, European spirit.

We can date back to this period the splendid wine fountain by Paul de Lamerie, the punch bowl of Gabriel Sleath, the wine-cooler by Lewis Mattayer, and Catherine I's famous English service. All of these items were recorded in the inventory of the Winter Palace as early as the middle of the 18th century.

During the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, extremely expensive objects of daily use were purchased. Articles which adorn the collections of the Hermitage to this day were ordered for her and her favourite Biron, for example the silver Toilet Set made by Paul de Lamerie and Augustine Courtauld, among other masters. The famous wine-cooler by Jerningham-Kandler which now decorates the Hermitage's exhibition of English arts was made in the 1730's.

The Oranienbaum and Pleshcheev dessert services have been preserved in the palace ever since the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The famous Oranienbaum service was made in the chinoiserie style and now includes six items by the London masters Nicholas Sprimont, Fuller White and Thomas Hemming.

The 1770's were noteworthy for new major acquisitions of English silver. We have in mind the so-called Governors' services. During the course of the reform of the provincial administration which Catherine the Great carried out from 1775-1796, some 40 provinces or guberniya were formed. The Empress took it upon herself to supply all the governors with sets of silver service, so that they might entertain in a manner befitting their status. It is known that the services for Tver, Volynia, Yaroslavl and Tula were ordered in England.

The period of Catherine II is notable for one further important event: the arrival in St Petersburg of the Duchess Elizabeth Kingston. It was thanks to her that the Hermitage received splendid works of English silversmiths. First of all one must mention the superb 1699 wine-cooler by Philip Rollos bearing the coat-of-arms of the Duke of Kingston and two silver vases by Andrew Fogelberg.

During the course of the 19th century, works by London jewellers and silversmiths were constantly being purchased for the imperial household. Most often these were supplied by the workshops of Mortimer & Hunt and Hunt & Roskell, as well as by R. & S. Garrard. The 1840's and ‘50's are noteworthy for two major orders: the large table service which was later called the "London service" and the silver service of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, which was ordered for her marriage to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitsky.

In addition to its own orders placed in England, the Russian imperial family received gifts from the English court on the occasion of one or another important event.

Two-Handled Cup and Cover
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