GRAND COSTUMED BALL at the Hermitage Theatre of the Winter Palace. Group photograph. St. Petersburg, February-March 1903.

Late print, reshooting of the 1903 image. On mount. 23.5x39.8 cm. In February 1903, the Winter Palace hosted the largest masquerade in the history of St. Petersburg. The ball, dedicated to the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, was attended by all the nobility of the state. Guests were dressed in costumes from the pre-Petrine era: ladies in kokoshniks and sarafans, cavaliers in the attire of streltsy, falconers, and boyars. Members of the imperial family also wore historical costumes. Extensive historical and archival research was conducted, and consultants including historians and art historians participated in creating costumes for the imperial couple and courtiers. For instance, Nicholas II's "Small Tsar's Costume" was partly authentic. The design was developed by the director of the Hermitage, I.A. Vsevolozhsky, and the artist of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theaters, E.P. Ponomarev. From the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, 16 authentic items of royal costumes from the 17th century were obtained: pearl bracelets of Fedor Ioannovich, the authentic scepter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, buttons, and decorations. The costume made of velvet and brocade, specially ordered from suppliers to the imperial court, was handled by the theatrical costumer of the Imperial Theaters, I.I. Kaffi, along with two tailors. The imperial hat was crafted in the hat workshop of the Brüno brothers, suppliers to the Imperial Court since 1872. Other participants of the ball also meticulously prepared for the event. Even orchestral musicians and choristers were dressed in antique Russian kaftans. Empress-appointed 65 "dancing officers" were also attired as streltsy or falconers from the 17th century. Most costumes were created based on designs by the fashionable artist Sergey Solomko. At the empress's request, participants were captured by the best photographers of St. Petersburg, and a year later, at the order of the Imperial Court, a commemorative "Album of the Costume Ball at the Winter Palace" was released, containing 21 heliogravures and 174 phototypes.