This lot contains three books on Russian Imperial Art.

Russian Glass at Hillwood and Russian Imperial Porcelain at Hillwood are both books detailing pieces that are in the collection at the Hillwood Museum in Washington, DC. Hillwood was the Washington residence of Marjorie Merriweather Post, cereal heiress, collector, and philanthropist. Her mansion and auxiliary buildings are set amid gardens on a 25-acre estate. Mrs. Post collected art throughout her life, emphasizing only the finest Frrench and Russian objects. These books are like new and review the russian glass and imperial porcelain collections. The book on glass is a hardback; the book on porcelain is a paperback.

The third book in this lot is What Became of Peter's Dream? Court Culture in the Reign of Nicholas II. This is a paperback still sealed in plastic. The book, written by Anne Odom, the curator emerita of the Hillwood Museum, focuses on the Boyar Ball of 1903, illustrating with objects the jarring inconsistencies between the westernized society of the Romanovs and the old Russian customs that Nicholas II hoped to recapture. From the traditional Russian costumes to the heirloom jewels that they wore to this festive gathering, the members of the Court of Nicholas II seemed out of touch with the real world that we now know was in historic transition. Bedecked in costumes designed by Sergei Diagilev and jewels by the firm of Faberge, they celebrated a world that Peter had rejected. Detailed descriptions of the accoutrements and possessions of the court make tangible the complex interweave of Russian imperial tradition, spiritual aspiration, and cultural efflorescene on the eve of the Revolution. Picture frames, portraits, jewels, desk sets, cigarette boxes, icons, Easter eggs, gifts of state - even a glass vodka bottle - tell a nuanced and complex story. Drawn primarily from the collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post and a family descended from the Romanovs themselves, the objects present a vivid view of life at home as well as life at court.