Hello dear friends. We all know that it is necessary to go to the ball in full dress. And this rule was perfectly observed by those who were invited to the imperial parties. And the last such meeting of representatives of the upper class in their decoration surpassed everything that was organized before.
It was the most magnificent masquerade ball during the reign of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. It was dedicated to the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty and lasted two days. The first was a concert with dinner and dancing, and the second was the masquerade ball itself, which went down in history and costume designers’ textbooks.
At the end of 1903, a spectacular costume ball was organized in the Hermitage, which became the last in Tsarist Russia. Its echoes can be seen today in a deck of cards and in the Star Wars movie.
Nicholas II appeared in the costume of the 17th century Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of gold brocade.
Photo archive / CGACPPD
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna shone in the attire of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Queen Maria Ilyinichna: a dress of brocade and silver satin, adorned with pearls, and a crown of diamonds and emeralds. Alexandra Feodorovna wore a giant emerald on her chest.
All these decorations for the Empress were selected by the court jeweler Carl Faberge himself. At today’s prices, this outfit is worth at least 10 million euros.
Later, the ballerina Tamara Karsavina wrote in her memoirs: “The Empress in a heavy crown looked like a Byzantine icon.”
All 390 guests were invited to dress in traditional Russian costumes from the 17th century. “The hall looked very beautiful, full of ancient Russians,” the tsar wrote in his diary. Dancing to the accompaniment of the court orchestra in the costumes of Russian trumpeters continued until one in the morning.
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
In addition to traditional waltzes, quadrilles and mazurkas, “Russian dances” were danced that evening – round dances and dances specially staged by the dancer Felix Kshesinsky, father of the legendary Russian ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
However, the bright event was remembered, first of all, by luxurious costumes in the Russian style: court ladies wore sundresses studded with precious stones and traditional kokoshniks (old Russian headdresses in the form of scallops with rich decoration). The ladies were dressed in the richest family attire and jewels, while the gentlemen sported their richly decorated caftans and leather boyar hats, which were once worn by the nobles on falconry.
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich
Photo archive / CGACPPD
Never before had such magnificence been seen in the Winter Palace, never before had the dazzling brilliance of so many jewels been reflected in its mirrors.
“While we were dancing,” Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich later recalled, “there were strikes of workers in St. Petersburg, and the clouds over the Far East were thickening.”
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich
“… I was dressed as a falconer, wearing a pink silk shirt, blue trousers and yellow goatskin boots. The rest of the guests clearly followed the whims of their imagination and tastes, but remained within the 17th century.
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich
The Russo-Japanese War that broke out a year later, and then the First Russian Revolution of 1905, together with the global economic crisis, marked the beginning of the end of the Russian Empire, and the St. Petersburg court was no longer ready for this.
However, oddly enough, the memory of the “Russian Ball” in 1903 was preserved in the Soviet era. It so happened that in 1913, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, a deck of cards in the Russian style was released, which is still reprinted.
The prototypes of the postcards were the costumes of the participants of the ball, captured in a photo album of 1904. For example, the suit of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich is drawn on the card with the jack of spades, and the suit of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich is drawn on the card with the jack of diamonds. The Lady of the Crosses practically copies the dress of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and the Lady of Hearts resembles the King’s sister, Xenia Alexandrovna, dressed as a noblewoman.
Grand Duke, heir to the throne Mikhail Alexandrovich.
And here is what Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich wrote about the clothes of the participants in the ball: “Xenia (his wife) was in the form of a noblewoman, a richly decorated platte, shining with jewels, which suited her very well. … “.
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna
It is curious that it was these costumes of Russian girls in kokoshniks that were inspired by Star Wars costume designer Trisha Bigger, creating the golden travel costume of Queen Amidala.
And Russian-style cards survived both the Empire and the Romanovs and became the most popular deck in the USSR. A million Soviet people play cards at home and on the beach, or play whist (called preference in Russia), not even suspecting that they are holding in their hands the memory of the last costumed ball of the Russian Empire.
Are you impressed by these precious vestments?
