Auction details
6:00 AM PT - Sep 15th, 2007
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Russian evening bag, envelope style, made of gold silk brocade, woven in floral design and outlined in brown. Provenance - according to the letter accompanying this bag from its purchase in 1933: "This fabric is from a collection of brocades formerly used in the private chapels of the Romanoffs [Russia's Royal Family] as altar covers, priest's robes, etc. They were assembled from the various Imperial Palaces in St. Petersburg and stored in the ware rooms of the Winter Palace. Soldiers of the present [1930s] government were instructed to tear out the linings and rip off the galoons in preparation for burning the brocades in order to reclaim the precious metals of gold and silver with which they were woven. Many were saved from this ruthless destruction by Dr. Armand Hammer." The letter is from the Russian Imperial Exhibit of the Hammer Collection at Marshall Field & Co., Chicago, Ill. and denotes the buyer, Mrs. Olin West, Susan West's paternal grandmother. It is dated 1933. A handwritten note accompanying the letter and evening bag states "Happy Birthday, Much Love, Munny." Likely a gift to Conn Harris West. Additional note - Dr. Armand Hammer's rescue of the Russian Imperial textiles is mentioned in an Antiques Digest article by Marian Garner, Decorative Uses of Russian Textiles. Condition - good condition with some thread wear. 6 1/4" x 4 1/4". Fabric circa 1850, fashioned into purse early 20th century. Glen Leven estate.
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