Muscovy Crown - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The so-called Muscovy Crown was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels

Polish Crown Jewels

The only surviving original piece of the Polish Crown Jewels from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword - Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items in the Wawel Royal Castle Museum, Kraków....

. It was made in about 1610 for Prince Władysław Vasa

Władysław IV Vasa

Władysław IV Vasa was a Polish and Swedish prince from the House of Vasa. He reigned as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 8 November 1632 to his death in 1648....

's coronation as a Tsar of Russia, which was also known as Muscovy.

History

The Muscovy Crown was the type of corona clausa, made in the form of the rims covered with the globe and a cross on their intersection. It was decorated with precious stones including sapphire

Sapphire

Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...

s, emerald

Emerald

Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...

s, rubies

Ruby

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...

and pearls. In total there were 255 precious stones. The crown was bequeathed by King Władysław IV Vasa

Władysław IV Vasa

Władysław IV Vasa was a Polish and Swedish prince from the House of Vasa. He reigned as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 8 November 1632 to his death in 1648....

to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, however, after the king's death in 1648, it was appropriated by King John II Casimir and bequeathed to the State Treasury in 1668. It was pawned lawlessly in 1700 by King Augustus II the Strong

Augustus II the Strong

Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....

, and later appropriated by Frederick I of Prussia

Frederick I of Prussia

Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

(part of so-called Pawn of the Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita is a traditional name of the Polish State, usually referred to as Rzeczpospolita Polska . It comes from the words: "rzecz" and "pospolita" , literally, a "common thing". It comes from latin word "respublica", meaning simply "republic"...

) as a result of German claiming to the outlays sustained during the Deluge.

One of the gems from the crown became the property of Jan Kazimierz Krasiński

Jan Kazimierz Krasinski

Jan Kazimierz Krasiński was a Polish nobleman .Jan Kazimierz was courtier on the royal court. He was podkomorzy of Ciechanów since 1634, castellan of Ciechanów since 1637 and of Warsaw since 1648, voivode of Płock Voivodeship since 1650, Grand Treasurer of the Crown from 1658 to 1669, Royal...

, Grand Treasurer of the Crown. It was in the possession of the Krasiński family till the 19th century. Later it was given to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...

by Wincenty Krasiński

Wincenty Krasinski

Count Wincenty Krasiński was a Polish nobleman , political activist and military leader.He was the father of Zygmunt Krasiński, one of Poland's Three Bards—Poland's greatest romantic poets.-Life:...

and found its place in the collections of the Kremlin Armoury

Kremlin Armoury

The Kremlin Armory is one of the oldest museums of Moscow, established in 1808 and located in the Moscow Kremlin .The Kremlin Armoury originated as the royal arsenal in 1508. Until the transfer of the court to St Petersburg, the Armoury was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons,...

in Moscow.

History

Further reading