A Rare Gift for the Hermitage

Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze, Taleon’s Managing Director, has made a gift of two unique intaglios to the Hermitage.

An intaglio is the opposite of a cameo – a carved stone with a miniature image incised into it. From ancient times they were used as seals, amulets and pieces of jewellery. These particular intaglios were created by Russian gem-carvers associated with the Academy of Arts in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Alexander Ebralidze bought the treasures in a private gallery in Berlin, where they had ended up after a Sotheby’s auction.

The gifts were handed over on the first occasion of a unique “holiday” instituted by the Hermitage – Maecenas Day. It is intended to make this an annual occasion, celebrated every 13 April, the birthday of the Ancient Roman patron of the arts, Gaius Cilnius Maecenas. The name of that historical figure has become inseparably linked with this noble phenomenon in the cultural and spiritual life of society.

Accepting the intaglios, Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky said that in Russia today the number of enlightened benefactors is increasing:

“It is heart-warming to meet people who not only understand the need to preserve culture, but also act to increase the stocks of the nation’s museums.”

The curator of the collection of Western European and Russian carved stones, Yulia Osvaldovna Kagan, particularly noted the significance of the event:

“Our collection of carved stones, today the largest in the world, was founded by Catherine II. She collected a great variety of works of art, but her heart belonged to gem stones – intaglios and cameos. Still, the part of the Hermitage collection created by Russian craftsmen is not very large and additions to it are rare. That is what makes this gift so important for us. Without new exhibits, without evolving a museum turns from a treasure-house into a tomb of the arts.”