Art · Monarchies · Humour

Charles IX of Sweden wore a braid over his bald head and tried to seize Livonia

While Uncle Vasya plasters three strands of a witch's hair across his gleaming bald pate and captivates the ladies on the Metro with his manly charm, Charles IX of Sweden braids a plait over his bald skull and tries to seize Livonia. This is the style for when

Art · Books · Monarchies · Observations

The 1852 Icelandic “Snow White”, Catherine II and Russian-Danish Relations

In an Icelandic retelling of "Snow White" published in 1852, with illustrations by Theodor Hosemann, the queen bears a striking resemblance to Catherine II. Well, a fine touch for Russo-Danish relations. Iceland at that time, as a result of the Danish-Norwegian union, formed part of Denmark.

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Mood: The Holy Roman Empire

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Mores · Paris · Society Pages

The tureen in which Napoleon served broth to Marie-Louise when she bore him a son, the King of Rome, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte: it, too, could be seen at the Paris Biennale, on the ImperialArt stand

NB! · Monarchies · Museums · Paris

The boots Napoleon wore during his years on the island of Saint Helena, in the Drouot pavilion at the Paris Biennale

Monarchies · Mores · People · Humour

The 1876 diagnosis of Alexander II and his affair with Ekaterina Dolgorukaya

In 1876, Alexander II was diagnosed with "exhaustion caused by excesses in sexual relations". And of course, what was meant was his relationship with his mistress Ekaterina Dolgorukaya: the passionate affair lasted 14 years, and it was provoked by the fact that, after the birth of eight children,

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Observations

I adore this portrait of Catherine II: so charming, so unaffected and, above all, unflattering

I adore this portrait of Catherine II: so charming, so unaffected and, above all, unflattering. It is a great pity that the artist's name has not come down to us

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Moscow · Museums · Observations

The portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna by A. Roslin and the portrait of her husband, Emperor Paul I, by S. S. Shchukin hang opposite each other at Arkhangelskoye in such a way that, if one looks into the mirror, the spouses find themselves side by

Archive · Monarchies · People · Humour

Bogdanovich on Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich and his identical reply to every report

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich replied to all introductions, petitions and communications in one stereotyped fashion: “Very glad, I thank you heartily.” He replied in just the same way when he was informed of the death of Dobryakov, the chief military doctor. From the memoirs of A. V. Bogdanovich

Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Moscow · Heritage

Holographic copy of Irina Yusupova's lost tiara, a wedding gift of 1914

The most emblematic Chaumet jewel connected with Russia is the sun tiara created for Nicholas II's niece Irina Alexandrovna Romanova, acknowledged as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. In 1914 Irina married Felix Yusupov. The tiara was a gift from Princess Zinaida Yusupova, who had assembled

Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Museums

Parures of the early 19th century and Napoleon I's wedding gift to Marie-Louise

As such, parures reached the height of their popularity in the early nineteenth century: in the 1800s it was precisely sets of jewellery that adorned ladies in Europe's principal capitals. This fashion owed a great deal to the jewellers of the future house of Chaumet, which over its

Art · Monarchies · Museums · Mores · Paris

Tradition of the groom's wedding gift basket for the bride at the Chaumet exhibition

The Chaumet exhibition presents a magnificent tradition dating back to the seventeenth century: the corbeille de mariage, or wedding basket. The set of gifts that the bridegroom prepared for his bride was presented in a special casket in the shape of a vase with a lid. The chest was usually