Friday, January 14, 2011

Russian Court Balls -- 1865

Court festivities followed one another with unparalleled luxury and magnificent pageantry.

The former English ambassador, Lord Loftus, an eyewitness of this gorgeous period, wrote in his Diplomatic Reminiscences that the Court was very brilliant and admirably maintained; its pomp almost Oriental. The balls, with the romantic setting of the Circassian Guard, the picturesque variety of the uniforms, the beauty of the dresses, the fairy-like sparkle of the jewels, surpassed in splendour and magnificence anything he had seen in other countries.

Théophile Gautier, who visited Russia at. this precise period, 1865, and was granted the privilege of being present at a Court Ball, has exhausted the resources of his vocabulary to describe this brilliant occasion for us. To obtain a better view of the scene as a whole, he took up his position in the gallery which commands a view of the Hall of Saint George:

"Leaning over this gulf of light one's first feeling is a sort of vertigo. At first nothing can be distinguished through the waves of perfume and light, the gleam of candles, mirrors, gold, diamonds, gems and rich stuffs. A shimmering radiance prevents the eye from defining any individual form, Then in a little while the sight grows accustomed to the glare, and grasps as a whole this vast hall, of white marble and stucco. . .  It is one mass of uniforms faced with gold, epaulettes studded with diamonds, jewelled orders, clusters of enamel and precious stones glistening on the breasts of the men. The uniforms are so brilliant, so rich, so varied, that the women, with their modern elegance and the light grace of present-day fashion find it difficult to compete with their massive splendour. Unable to be richer, they are more beautiful: their uncovered throats and shoulders are worth all the gold facings."

The Tragic Romance of Alexander II of Russia by Maurice Paléologue.  1926. Pages 46-7.

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