Russian Imperial Alexandra Feodorovna circa 1850 Banquet Service Decanter
Russian Imperial Alexandra Feodorovna Banquet Service Decanter. Height of decanter with stopper: 11in. Acquired by a private collector in the. Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova (1798 - 1860).
On 13 July 1817, her 19th birthday, she married Grand Duke Nikolaj Pavolvich, the future Tsar Nikolas I. In 1824, the Imperial Glass Works produced the first so-called Banquet Service as a present from the future Emperor Nicholas I to his wife, the Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna.This service used a recently developed French technique in which a sheet of enameled gold foil decorated with the Grand Duchess' initials was encased between two layers of glass. Using this service as a model, the factory produced subsequent banquet services for other members of the Russian Imperial Family, often as dowries upon their marriages. Most of these services were produced in the 1850s, during the reign of Nicholas I, with replacements being made into the 1880s. Although a number of these Banquet Services have been identified, more await further research.