M/S Visitors looking at vases M/S Visitors looking at vases C/U Vases W/S Showing a gold and diamond box C/U Diamond and gold box W/S Putting back diamond and gold box C/U Diamond and gold box SOT. Bernard Piguet, Director and Principal Auctioneer of Hôtel des Ventes (In English): "In our Russian auction we have now 240 lots including icons, porcelain, silverware, correspondences, letters and photographs all about Russian art." C/U Hands SOT. Bernard Piguet, Director and Principal Auctioneer of Hôtel des Ventes (In English): "We have an outstanding pair of vases coming from the imperial porcelain manufactory in St. Petersburg. This was a gift from Nicolas I to Elena Pavlovna; we have also a magnificent gold and diamond box given by Alexander I; we have also a large correspondence by two different Tsars, Alexander II and Nicolas I, and again, a very good collection of photographs." C/U Nicolas I sign in letter W/S Showing Russian letters M/S Showing Russian letters W/S Photos on table M/S Photos on table W/S Photos on table W/S Clients coming in C/U Clients seeing pictures M/S Clients viewing C/U Yellow diamond M/S Jewellery C/U Gold necklace W/S Clients viewing artefacts SCRIPT Switzerland: Rare Tsarist letters, artefacts go on the block An exhibition featuring over 250 unpublished letters from Russian Tsars Nicholas I, Alexander II and their families will be auctioned off in Geneva, Friday, alongside other imperial artefacts. The imperial sale, which will take place at the Hotel Des Ventes, is expected to generate more than 1 million Swiss francs (€812,000, $1.1 million). The letters were originally purchased by an American captain and journalist deployed in Europe during World War II. In 1989, following his death, the captain's widow gave the letters to a historian friend, unaware of how valuable they were. The letters, which are written in Russian, French and English, will go on sale alongside a set of unpublished photos of Alexander III's family, and a pair of porcelain vases given by Nicholas I to his sister-in-law Elena Pavlovna. The vases are expected to fetch half a million Swiss francs (€406,000, $550,000).

• published: 07 Dec 2013
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