This cigarette case, decorated with the Imperial double-headed eagle on the cover and in its original red leather case, was clearly commissioned as a presentation piece for the Romanov court. The scratched inventory number ‘12944’ engraved inside the case appears three times in the Court ledger books, recorded for journeys to Finland in August-September 1906, to Bulgaria in 1907, and to Reval (modern Tallinn, Estonia) in 1908 at the cost of 50 roubles. On each occasion the piece remained unpresented and must therefore have been returned to the Court.

The accompanying handwritten note confirms that the cigarette case was given by Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to a family friend with whom they used to play tennis, which explains the absence of a formal presentation entry in the ledgers. It is well known that Nicholas II developed a great passion for lawn tennis after visiting England, and had numerous courts built on his estates.

Engraved facsimile signatures of Alexandra Feodorovna and all her five children – Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, who would have been around five or six years old at the time – appear on the interior and the base of the case. Their inclusion makes this a particularly rare example of a personal family gift from the Romanov couple and their children, rather than an official presentation piece from the Romanov Court.

For a comparable cigarette case from the collection of John Traina, see G. von Habsburg, Fabergé: Imperial Craftsman and His World, London, 2000, p. 130, no. 218. We are grateful to Dmitry Krivoshey for his assistance with the research of the present lot.