SEVRES Porcelain Nicholas & Alexandra Medallion Commemorating their Visit to the Factory in 1896

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Depicting the Imperial couple facing right, he in military uniform, she wearing a kokoshnik, inscribed NICHOLAS II and ALEXANDRA, the reverse inscribed LL MM L'EMPEREUR ET L'IMPERATRICE DE RUSSIE VISITENT LA MANUFACTURE NATIONALE DE SEVRES, 8 OCTOBRE 1896. in original red leather box, the top embossed MANUFACTURE NATIONALE DE SEVRES and dated.

French, circa 1896

3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm.) diam.

Nicholas & Alexandras State Visit to France

In summer 1896, shortly after his coronation as Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II undertook a series of state visits abroad with his consort to the more important European powers. With stops in Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Great Britain, the trip ended in France in early autumn. Although the Romanovs had long distrusted the revolutionary republic, shared concerns about Wilhelmine militarism had recently made St. Petersburg and Paris military allies. Eager to strengthen its defensive coalition, the French government pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to fasten artificial blooms to the chestnut trees that line the capitals boulevards. Enthusiastic crowds greeted the imperial couple at the many stops it made during their sojourn, including the famous porcelain manufactory at Sèvres. The tsar returned home much moved by the warm welcome of his empires new strategic partner.