Photo © Tsarskoye Selo Restoration Workshop

The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum continue to recreate items lost from the Alexander Palace during the Second World War . . . the latest additions are a table and chair, recreated for the Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II.

The two pieces of furniture were recreated from a vintage 1917 photograph by the Tsarskoye Selo Restoration Workshop. The items can be seen at the end of the Ottoman sofa in the Tsar’s Working Study – see photo at the bottom of this post.

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo Restoration Workshop

Recall that the Alexander Palace closed in the Autumn of 2015 for an extensive restoration, which saw the reconstruction of the Private Apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, situated in the Eastern Wing of the palace. Work on the project took 6 years to complete. The Alexander Palace reopened it’s doors to visitors in August 2021.

Since that time, a number of pieces of furniture have been recreated for the interiors of the Imperial Apartments. For instance, in May 2023 a large stand for palm trees and other large plants were recreated for the Maple Drawing Room; as well as an L-shaped desk and ottoman (stool) for the Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II.

In June 2023, a beautiful large Persian Farahan carpet was recreated to upholster the Large Ottoman sofa, which stretched the length of one wall in the Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II.

PHOTO: The Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace

The Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II was decorated in 1896-1897 in the English Style by Roman Meltzer (1860-1943) and furniture master Karl Grinberg. It was in this room that the Emperor read papers, including numerous correspondence, received foreign ministers and dignitaries and listened to reports from his ministers, who travelled from St. Petersburg.

© Paul Gilbert. 24 December 2024