Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (1860 - 1919) was the youngest child of Alexander II, the brother of Alexander III, and the uncle of Nicholas II. In 1889 he married Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, but their marriage was short lived as Alexandra died in 1891. The Grand Duke soon began a relationship with Olga Karnovich, the future Princess Paley, a married woman with three children.

Ultimately, Olga divorced her husband and Paul requested permission from his nephew Nicholas II to remarry, a request which was refused by the Emperor who disapproved of Olga’s divorced status. Banished from Russia, the couple married in 1902 in Livorno, Italy, had three children together, and later settled in France.

It was not until 1912 that Nicholas II recognized Paul and Olga’s morganatic marriage, which encouraged the couple to move back to Russia in 1914. After the Revolution, Grand Duke Paul was arrested in 1918 and executed by the Bolsheviks. Princess Paley and her daughters escaped revolutionary Russia and later settled in Paris.

The diamond-set frost hinges on the present cigarette case are reminiscent of Alma Pihl's frost designs, which she created for Dr Emanuel Nobel in 1911.

We are grateful to Dmitry Krivoshei for his assistance with the research of the present lot.