Filigree in the Hermitage
The Hermitage in St Petersburg has a large number of works in eastern filigree from the 17th and 18th centuries. At first they lay in the palace storerooms or were used by the rulers of the day. Later (from the first half of the 18th century) they were  exhibited in the galleries of the Hermitage. In the 20th century the Hermitage’s
Oriental Department was established and many filigree pieces found their way to the Oriental Jewellery Storeroom. Far from everything was identified as oriental, however, so the collection was dispersed over various departments within the museum. Thanks to the recent research by the curator of Chinese applied art, Maria Menshikova, a large part of the collection was found, catalogued, and restored. The results of this major study are now presented in the exhibition and the accompanying publication.

The main part of the collection comes from China, India and Indonesia. The 17th-century Chinese pieces are fairly large and their forms go back to traditional Chinese objects. The ornamentation is characteristic of Chinese culture: peonies, lotus flowers and plum blossom. There are also many works from India, and particularly Goa (see above). These often have a European form because they were made to order, for example for the Catholic Church. The objects from Batavia, modern Jakarta, in Indonesia are often hard to distinguish from Chinese work.




Unique toilet sets
One of the highlights in the exhibition and in the Hermitage collection is Catherine the Great’s two large toilet sets. The Chinese set (1740-1750) consists of 32 components, and the Indian set (1740-1750, Dekkan, Karimnagar) of 19. These are unique ensembles, because over time comparable sets from other European courts have been sold, melted down or lost. Only one other toilet set of a similar size is known: that of Burghley House in Lincolnshire in England.

In Western Europe mirrors and toilet sets were one means of showing your distinction and that you belonged to the right circles. They were usually made of silver and used by both women and men. The difference lay in the composition of the different elements. Toilet sets were often given as wedding presents or formed part of the trousseau. The most important part was the mirror, supplemented by 15 or 50 pieces. The owners could also buy new silver objects as they wished. The set would be arranged in a room close to the bedroom and the mirror would be adorned with expensive lace. The owners would complete their morning toilet in front of the mirror and grant an audience to their closest companions. Despite the opposition of the Orthodox Church, which banned the use of mirrors, the earliest toilet sets appeared in Russia in the 17th century. The most famous example is the gold toilet set, with a tea and coffee service, that belonged to the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ivanovna, and can now be admired in the Hermitage’s treasury.

The Netherlands–Russia: the writing box of Stadholder William III
The Hermitage’s filigree collection includes a curious object: the writing box of Stadholder William III. He was the member of the House of Orange who married the English princess Mary Stuart and became King of England after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. On the lid is William III’s coat of arms. Around the arms is the motto of the Order of the Garter: Honi soit qui mal y pense. This box was probably made in Goa or Jakarta. But how did this unusual piece end up in the Hermitage’s collection? The box turns up in the collection of Frederick I of Prussia, the son-in-law of King George I and direct descendant of Mary Stuart of Scotland. It is known that part of the legacy of William III and Mary Stuart went to Prussia. This explains how Frederick I came into the possession of his father-in-law’s box. In 1717 Peter the Great visited Frederick I’s famous palace at Potsdam. During that visit he was given the Amber Room (a copy of which can now be seen in the palace of Tsarskoe Selo). Peter was a great admirer of Stadholder-King William III and he probably saw his hero’s writing box during his visit and ‘asked’ Frederick to give him that too.


Filigree in the 19th century
Large toilet sets went out of fashion, but filigree objects remained popular well into the 19th century. Bigger firms and shops were set up to cater specially for the European market. For the first time the initials of the masters appeared on the objects, in the Latin alphabet but sometimes in Chinese characters too. Paper labels with the name of the maker were attached to cases for visiting cards. The silversmith was no longer a nameless craftsman. The exhibition includes unusual 19th-century examples such as bracelets, fans and so-called porte-bouquets (in which real plants were put to ornament ladies’ clothing).





In conclusion
The collection of silver filigree from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries in the Hermitage is wide-ranging and unique, but has so far received little scholarly attention. This publication and exhibition will contribute to further study of the many issues surrounding this collection and to the attribution of many similar objects in other museum collections. At the Hermitage a classification into groups based on form, style, ornament and origin has been arrived at which can be used with a high degree of confidence. Catherine the Great’s toilet sets, the showpieces of the collection, have literally become models. Thanks to them, other Chinese and Indian objects from the 17th and 18th centuries can be attributed fairly exactly.