Russian Emperor Nicholas II "Khodinka" Cup
1896
Ceramic on copper, called the Khodinka Cup, or Cup of Sorrows, made to commemorate the Russian Imperial Coronation of the last Romanov couple, Nicholas and Alexandra in 1896, the front depicts the crowned ciphers of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Fedorovna above the date 1896, the reverse, the Russian Imperial double-headed eagle, decorated with a rust-colored and pale blue strapwork design below a gilt border.
Four days after the Tsar's coronation, on May 18, 1896, close to half a million people gathered on the Khodynka Field northwest of Moscow, to celebrate the occasion and receive gifts, including this beaker, from the Imperial family. These were to be distributed the following morning. Early the next day, which was unseasonably hot, rumor spread about a shortage of souvenirs. The masses in a panic started to surge towards the distribution stalls causing widespread trampling and over a thousand deaths. Many saw the catastrophe at Khodynka Field as a bad omen for the Tsar's new reign.
H: 4 in (10.5 cm)
