Many of the rooms in the palace were filled with tourists and we
often had to wait for the crowded rooms to 'thin out' before we could
have a good look at all that each room had to offer. The wait was well worth it
because every room delivered something new and wonderful to see.
The Portrait Hall's walls are covered from with 368 female portraits by Pietro
Rotari. The individual canvas portraits are separated by narrow gilded frames
and the mosaic effect is very striking. Rotari has manage to capture his
female models in poses that reveal their individual personalities. It was
interesting to study some of the looks on the females' faces and to try and
imagine what their occupations may have been in the mid 1800's. The Portrait
Hall is also enhanced by a wooden piano and other furniture carved from rich
mahogany timbers. The 3D parquet flooring makes an interesting contrast to the
four sets of brilliant white doors which are decorated with elaborate gilt
plant and rocaille motifs. Above each door the embellishments continue with
golden sculptured female busts, surrounded by foliage and flanked by two birds
also gilt in gold. Incredible craftsmanship!
The Dressing Room walls are covered with a bright
blue pasley-patterned rose-motif silk wall paper. It looks very feminine and
the luxurious look is enhanced by the gilt trimmings on the timber
furniture. Notice too that the chairs have been upholstered in silk material
that matches the silk wallpaper, perfectly. Look closely and you will see that
the rose motif theme is repeated on the vases and candle holders that decorate
the room. 
In contrast, the White Dining Room is mainly pure
white with tourquoise blue trimmings and white furniture which emits a peaceful
and relaxing atmosphere.
The silver table settings are elaborate, the dinner service is
extensive and made from the finest porcelain with the daintiest of designs.
Look at the fragile but perfect glasses, some with plate gold edgings and the
huge but beautifully-fashioned table urns that decorate the table.
I would have had my heart in my mouth if I had to wash the
settings or even lay the table with the amount of cutlery, glassware and crockery
needed to be handled.
The Tsars wife's bedroom decorated in soft pink
and blue hues with satin bed coverings is perfect for a bedroom. The bed looks
sumptuous and soft and inviting but of course we couldn't try it out. Again the
walls were covered in a silk cloth which appeared to have an Asian theme
with images of cows, ducks, servants and servant ladies wearing Japanese style
of clothing. An odd choice but maybe it was in vogue at the time. Gold mirrors
and trimmings added luxury to the room.
In another bedroom setting we noticed an unusual addition in the
room, for on the wall opposite the bed a curtained alcove with a silk covered
settee provided a restful looking area for reading or just relaxing.
Continuing down the hallway we passed another reception room
which looked like a study. It had elaborately gold encrusted patterns on its
entrance doors, beautiful damask blue wallpaper, huge windows and another
central painting on the ceiling.
Throughout our tour of the palace we often came across some
unusual items of furniture in some of the rooms. Here are three that took my
attention.
The first, a sumptuously gold cabinet-clock which had obviously
been acquired by one of the tsars, as a trophy item gathered when travelling
through Europe. It was taller than me and very grand but it's timing wasn't
correct. Had the the timekeeper of the clock slept in, and not had time
to wind-it-up today?
The second item was a very tall white porcelain object which I
learned was a Dutch style round ceramic stove which was used to heat the room
when the weather turned cold. These stoves were very fashionable in the
18th century and quite efficient. When a wood fire hearth in the lowest section
of the unit is lit the generated heat, heats the air in the porcelain chambers
above. When the ceramic walls became hot, heat radiates from the
stoves'ceramic walls into the room. 
The third item was a round table with a gold pedestal statue of a
child holding the table top. The table top was inlaid with different coloured
granite samples and other coloured stones which formed a unique and colourful
mosaic top. It is a beautiful piece of art work as well as a practical piece of
furniture that anyone would be proud to have in their home.
There were many other decorative objects and items of furniture
that I found fascinating but I've limited myself to just three in this blog.
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