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Hermitage Development Trust, Published 2000. Paperback, 255 pp.; 29 cm; illustrated in color throughout, with some black-and-white illustrations. Edited by Natalya Guseva and Catherine Phillips; forewords by Mikhail Piotrovski and Lord Rothschild.
In Very Good condition. Illustrated paper covers, front with Vigilius Eriksen's equestrian portrait of Catherine II and title in red, rear green with Catherine's crowned diamond monogram. Crease down upper half of front cover, also visible on inside front cover; light bumping increasing toward edges and corners; mild shelf and edge wear with some scuffing. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Bound in after front cover: single leaf (2 pp.) of the Prince George Galitzine Memorial Library, St Petersburg, with calendar of events listing the November 2000 private view of this exhibition. Catalogue of the first exhibition at the Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, London, opened by the Prince of Wales on 21 November 2000 and on view to 23 September 2001; the Rooms showed exhibitions from the State Hermitage Museum from 2000 to 2007. Arranged by gallery, with essays and catalogue entries by Hermitage curators on Catherine's life, objets de vertu at the imperial court, cameos, antiquities, Catherine as patron of the arts and crafts, and her Chinese collections. A "Visiting Masterpieces" section covers paintings rotated through the exhibition, including Poussin's Moses Striking the Rock and Jordaens' Allegorical Family Portrait. Works include portraits and engravings of the imperial family, enamel miniatures, gem cabinets designed by Leo von Klenze, a James Cox table clock on rhinoceros legs, pieces from Wedgwood's Frog Service, Tula steel furniture, Chinese gold filigree and views of Tsarskoye Selo. Entries give medium, dimensions, inventory number and provenance. Produced by Christie's International Media Division. Contents: Foreword (Mikhail Piotrovski); Foreword (Lord Rothschild); Catherine the Great, Empress of All the Russias; Visiting Masterpieces; Short Reference Guide and Historical Outline; Biography of an Empress: Catherine's Life; Objets de Vertu at the Imperial Court; Cameo Fever: "An Imperial Affair"; A Passion for Antiquities: "The most perfect Beauty"; Patron of the Arts and Crafts: "Catherine II Rewarding Art and Protecting Commerce"; China and Chinoiserie: Oriental Rooms and Catherine's Chinese Collections; Bibliography.