Andrei Postnikov cigarette case an architectural elevation for Moscow’s Hotel Continental, Moscow, 1887

Silver, gold, ruby, enamel, gilding

3 1/8 x 4 3/4 x 1 in. (79.3 x 119.8 x 24.9 mm)

Inv. no. ab_0267

Painted en plein on the cover of this silver cigarette case is a detailed architectural elevation of Moscow’s Continental Hotel. Painted inscriptions noting that the plan was approved by Minister of Internal Affairs Count Dmitry Tolstoy on 12 February 1887 appear at upper left, while the architect's name, A.P. Beloyartsev is shown at lower right. The Continental Hotel was located in central Moscow, just opposite the Metropole Hotel and in close proximity to monuments such as the Bolshoi Theater and Red Square. After the 1917 Revolution, it briefly served as the headquarters for the White Army, the center of anti-Soviet resistance during the Russian Civil War, until the disintegration of their forces. It was razed during the 1970s.