Treasures of Catherine the Great

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Catherine the Great, famed 18th-century Empress of Russia, was not only one of history's most remarkable women, but also a voracious and astute collector. Her fabulous private horde of jewels, miniatures, clocks, porcelain, arms and armor, coins and medals, paintings, and other precious objects is owned by the Hermitage Museum, which is housed in the former Winter Palace of the tsars in St. Petersburg. These are treasures fit for an empress; no one can even attempt to acquire their equal today.This rich volume -- published to coincide with the opening of the Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, London, the museum's first permanent exhibition space outside Russia -- presents the finest and most precious pieces from Catherine's collection in glorious full color. Among the rare objects included here, many of which have never before been reproduced, are a miniature of her lover Grigori Orlov painted on ivory; figures from a porcelain service given to Catherine by Frederick the Great of Prussia; Catherine's wig, made entirely of silver thread; filigree gold hairpins sent to her by the emperor of China; and much, much more. Expert texts set the works in context.