An Exhibition Of Russian Diamonds Opened In Kremlin

'Diamonds of Russia - 20th Century' is the name of the exhibition which has opened in the exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry in the Moscow Kremlin. It displays jewelry of the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, as well as jewelry made in our days. Sixty exhibits illustrate the development of relations in the context of the diamond-gold-power triad. The visitors will have a chance to see the folding Gospel which belonged to Natalia Naryshkina, the mother of Peter the Great, which was made in the work-shops of the Moscow Kremlin in the second half of the 17th century. For the first time the under-kaftan with a waist girdle from the fancy dress of the last Russian tsar Nicolas II will be exhibited for the public. This kaftan (long tunic) was made for the fancy ball of 1903. Two other interesting displays are the cross, made after the model of the cross of Peter the Great, and the Easter egg made by the Karl Faberge firm for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanovs. All these things show how the authority highly rated the diamond which symbolised the strength and the might of the state. After 1917 the traditions of the diamond art interrupted. Jewelry firms and the class of consumers of such expensive things disappeared. In our days, however, the jewelry traditions have been revived and jewelry firms and work-shops have appeared.

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