A GEM-SET GOLD IMPERIAL PRESENTATION CIGARETTE CASE

On 7 November 1890, Tsesarevich Nicholas, later Emperor Nicholas II, set sail on the Pamiat Azova [The Memory of Azov] from Trieste, Greece, on his journey to Vladivostok for the grand opening ceremony of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The present cigarette case was a gift to Tsesarevich Nicholas most likely from his mother, Maria Feodorovna, to commemorate the substantial journey, which covered over 22,000 kilometres by sea, porting in Egypt, India, China and Japan before its final stop in the far east of Russia. The voyage was documented by Esper Ukhtomski, who accompanied Tsesarevich Nicholas, in his book Puteshestvie na Vostok Ego Imperatorskogo Vysochestva Gosudarya Naslednika Tsesarevicha (1890-1891) [Journey to the East of His Imperial Highness Tsesarevich (1890-1891)].
It is interesting to note that Carl Fabergé's Imperial Easter Egg of 1891 was also dedicated to Pamiat Azova. The surprise contained within the egg was a miniature replica of the cruiser. Also, a comparable cigarette case by Hahn, decorated with the image of corvette Rinda was presented to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich also in 1891, and was sold at Christie's, London, on 29 November 2010, lot 252.