Wearables

Kokoshnik type Ceremonial headdress

Ceremonial Women’s Headdress

Made in Russia, probably St. Petersburg or Kyiv, c. 1900–1910 with a Silk foundation embroidered with gilt and silver bullion thread, metal purl, sequins, and glass bead fringe. This piece is 6” high with a 7 1/4” diameter, semi round with flat back and on each side ear flaps. Original cardboard hat box Materials include heavy buckram, silk lining, padded crown and hand-couched bullion embroidery.

The embroidery

gilt bullion
silver bullion
purl wire
twisted couching thread
small metal spangles
glass seed beads

The workmanship is consistent with expensive Russian embroidery from around 1900.

The bead fringe

Consists of repeated floral or rosette motifs made from:

white seed beads
yellow seed beads
faceted translucent beads

Each motif appears individually constructed and then attached around the lower edge which is considerably more elaborate than ordinary trim.

This richly embroidered ceremonial woman’s headdress belonged to Nadezhda Fedorovna Tereshchenko (1888–1968), daughter of the Ukrainian industrialist and aviation pioneer Fedor Fedorovich Tereshchenko and wife of Vladimir Vladimirovich Mouravieff-Apostol-Korobyine. It has remained continuously in the Mouravieff-Apostol-Korobyine family since before the Russian Revolution and is accompanied by its original striped cardboard storage hat box.

Constructed upon a rigid buckram foundation, the headdress is entirely covered with hand-couched gilt and silver bullion embroidery over a crimson silk foundation. The lower edge is finished with an elaborate hand-made fringe composed of white, yellow, and translucent glass beads arranged in repeating floral motifs. The interior retains its original pink silk lining and structural components.

Although initially resembling an Imperial Russian court kokoshnik, its distinctive semi-cylindrical form with a flat rear and projecting ear flaps suggests that it represents a rarer ceremonial headdress associated with aristocratic or regional formal costume of the late Imperial period. Further comparative study with museum collections may permit a more precise identification.

Reticule / Silk bag

Object: Silk court handbag (reticule/evening purse)
Owner: Nadezhda Fedorovna Tereshchenko Mouravieff-Apostol-Korobyine
Date: c. 1909–1914 (possibly used slightly later for formal court occasions)
Material: Silk with gold embroidery
Decoration: Embroidered combined Mouravieff-Apostol-Korobyine coat of arms and gold embroidered initials “MAK”
Provenance: Belonged to Nadezhda and descended through Vladimir, Andrew, Alexis, and Nicholas.
Historical context: Worn with her kokoshnik (court headdress) and formal Imperial Russian court dress for official functions and ceremonial occasions to hold items such as a handkerchief, dance card, calling cards, or a small fan while attending Imperial Court events.