A La Vieille Russie is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based

antique store An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online. An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...

specializing in European and American antique jewelry,

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

works of art, 18th-century European gold

snuff box A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are ...

es, and '' objets d’art''. Founded in Kiev in 1851, A La Vieille Russie later relocated to Paris around 1920 and to New York thereafter. From 1961 to 2017, the store was located at 781

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

, near the southeast entrance of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. In November 2017, A La Vieille Russie moved to a new showroom at 745 Fifth Avenue, on the fourth floor. Featured are items by

Carl Fabergé Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

that were created for members of the

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

court in Russia and for other wealthy patrons in turn-of-the-century Europe. A La Vieille Russie has bought and sold many of the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs.

History

A La Vieille Russie, a family business since its founding in Kiev in 1851, left the turmoil of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and was re-established in Paris around 1920 by Jacques Zolotnitsky, the grandson of the founder, with his nephew Léon Grinberg. The shop became a focal point for Russian ''émigré'' aristocracy and intellectual activity, attracting a range of royal and artistic clients. These included

Queen Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I. Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, ...

, Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga (sisters of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

), the Duke and Duchess of Windsor,

King Farouk Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 193 ...

, Salvador Dali, and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. Alexander Schaffer brought the firm to America, with his first shop in New York’s

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

. The gallery relocated to Fifth Avenue and 60th Street in 1941. In America, A La Vieille Russie quickly established itself as a leader in the market for Fabergé and Russian Imperial treasures. It helped form all of the major American Fabergé collections, such as the Forbes Magazine Collection, many of which are now in museums such as the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the s ...

and the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

. The gallery also specializes in European and American antique jewelry, 18th-century European gold snuff boxes, and antique Russian decorative arts, including silver, enamel, and

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

, as well as Russian paintings,

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

, and furniture. In 1961, A La Vieille Russie moved down the block to 59th Street and remained there for 56 years. In fall 2017, A La Vieille Russie moved to a showroom one block south at 745 Fifth Avenue. Still a multi-generational family business, under the direction of brothers, Messrs. Paul and Peter L. Schaffer, and Paul's son, Dr. Mark A. Schaffer, A La Vieille Russie continues to deal in fine art and antiques. The gallery exhibits annually at TEFAF Maastricht in the Netherlands, TEFAF NY Fall, and New York's Winter Show. A La Vieille Russie is a member of the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America (NAADAA) and the Art and Antique Dealers League of America. A La Vieille Russie also makes regular appearances on ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

''. Jewelry from A La Vieille Russie's collection has made various red carpet appearances, most recently at the 2021

Met Gala The Met Gala, or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It is popularly ...

. Theater producer

Jordan Roth Jordan Roth (born November 13, 1975) is an American theater producer. He is the president and majority owner of Jujamcyn Theaters in New York City. Roth oversees five Broadway theatres including the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Euge ...

wore an amethyst Boivin necklace, and Bee Carrozzini, daughter of

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

editor-in-chief

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour (; born 3 November 1949) is a British journalist based in New York City who has served as editor-in-Chief of ''Vogue'' since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the artistic directo ...

, wore a Victorian rock crystal necklace.

Key exhibitions at A La Vieille Russie

*Fabergé. 1949. *Antique Automatons. 1950. *Russian Icons. 1962. *The Art of the Goldsmith and the Jeweler. 1968. *Fabergé. 1983. *An Imperial Fascination: Porcelain. Dining with the Czars. Peterhof. 1991. *Alexandre Iacovleff – Paintings and Drawings. 1993. *Golden Years of Fabergé. Drawings and Objects from the Wigström Workshop. 2000. *Mechanical Wonders: The Sandoz Collection. 2011.

References

External links

*
CINOA (Confédération Internationale des Négociants en Oeuvres d'Art, or International Confederation of Traders in Works of Art)Masterpiece Fair LondonTEFAF Maastricht – The World's Leading Art and Antiques FairInternational Fine Art and Antique Dealers ShowWinter Antiques Show

The National Antique and Art Dealers Association of AmericaThe Art and Antique Dealers League of America
{{Authority control 1851 establishments in the Russian Empire Art museums and galleries in Manhattan Art museums and galleries established in 1851 Fifth Avenue