A Russian silver-gilt photograph frame with miniature of Tsarevna Maria Feodorovna, the frame by Samuel Arnd, St. Petersburg, circa 1880. The oval photograph with a matted surface to contrast with the polished bezel, the oval aperture with a miniature of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna (the future Empress) in evening dress with a tiara, wearing the sash & the star of the Order of St. Catherine, the reverse fitted with a shaped strut & suspension ring, both strut & back cover struck with maker’s mark & 84 silver fineness standard.The back of the paper cover holding the miniature in place with the number 207 written in pencil, possibly an inventory number of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, which controlled the creation of miniature portraits of members of the Imperial family. Height of frame: 2 7/16 in. (6.1 cm). Miniature (viewable): 1 x ¾ in. (2.4 x 1.7 cm).

Provenance:
Carl Immanuel Krebs (1889-1971), Danish Red Cross delegate in Russia during World War I through the 1917 Revolution & the Civil War

Carl Krebs assisted Maria Feodorovna while she was living in Crimea in 1918, making a perilous journey through Russia to bring her 50,000 rubles & a much-needed supply of food. Presumably she presented him with this miniature during their meeting.