Giant malachite vaseThe Hermitage in St Petersburg (ex Leningrad) is one of the great museums of the

Giant malachite vaseThe Hermitage in St Petersburg (ex Leningrad) is one of the great museums of the world, stuffed with the treasures of both Tsars and Soviets. Housed in what was originally the Winter Palace, the collection retains some of the original furnishings from the imperial home. Amongst these treasures are a series of huge carved stone vases, many of them sculpted over many years of work from Russian malachite mined near Yekaterinburg in the Urals and mounted in gilt bronze.LozImage credit: Dezidorhttp://www.alexanderpalace.org/petersburg1900/21.html -- source link

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