In August 2019, the Tsarskoye Selo Amber Workshop began to recreate the fireplaces of the Lyon Hall, lost during the Second World War. The project, which began several years ago, continued with new tasks - two fireplaces, frames for balcony doors, mirrors with under-mirror tables made of lapis lazuli and bronze will be recreated. 

During the Second World War, the decoration of the Lyon Hall was almost completely destroyed. Only a few details of the decoration of the fireplaces and parquet boards have survived. The latter were discovered in Berlin in 1947 and returned to Tsarskoe Selo.

Post-war photograph of the Lyons Hall

In the process of reconstruction in 2005-2006. the volumetric-spatial solution of the room was restored without recreating the decoration. The reconstruction project was developed by A.A. Kedrinsky in the 1980s using the design drawings of Ch. Cameron and pre-war photography.

Pre-war photograph of one of the fireplaces in the Lyon Hall.

Stoves and a fireplace were installed in the Lyon Hall at the end of the 19th century, replacing two unusable stoves designed by Monighetti. They were faced with white Carrara marble with lapis lazuli inlay and gilded ornamentation. Both the fireplace and the stove were decorated with six figures of cupids and a vase of Carrara marble, as well as two gilded bronze girandoles. The copper interior of the fireplace was decorated with bronze, and gilded bronze fireplace accessories were made according to the architect's drawing: grates; tongs, spatulas, a poker, furs and two coal vases. The execution of the fireplace and stove was entrusted to the Swiss sculptor L. Botta, "as known for his clarity and grace in the execution of such works."

In 2017-2018, the Tsarskoye Selo amber workshop carried out work on the restoration of parquet boards, as well as the reconstruction of door portals from lapis lazuli. In 2019, work was completed to recreate the lapis lazuli panels with bronze decor, a picturesque shade and fabric decoration from Lyon silk.

High-quality lapis lazuli from the Badakhshan deposit (Afghanistan) will be used to recreate the furnaces.

Preserved details of marble fireplaces

There is a large amount of work ahead and we will definitely share with you the details of its implementation.

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