The so-called Muscovy Crown () was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels. It was made in about 1610 in anticipation of Prince Władysław Vasa's coronation as

Tsar of Russia The Tsar of all Russia, formally the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, was the title of the Russian monarch from 1547 to 1721. During this period, the state was a tsardom. The first Russian monarch to be crowned as tsar was Ivan ...

, which was also known as

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

. Due to his father's opposition and a popular uprising in Russia, he never actually took the Russian throne, despite being elected by the

Seven Boyars The Seven Boyars () were a group of Russian nobles who deposed Tsar Vasili Shuisky on and later that year, after Russia lost the Battle of Klushino during the Polish–Russian War, acquiesced to the Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Moscow. The ...

. Nevertheless, until 1634 he used the title of Grand Duke of Muscovy.

History

The Muscovy Crown was the type of ''corona clausa'', made in the form of the rims covered with the globe and a cross on their intersection. It was decorated with precious stones including

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

rubies Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphi ...

and pearls. In total there were 255 precious stones. The crown was bequeathed by King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

to the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, however, after the king's death in 1648, it was appropriated by King

John II Casimir John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...

and bequeathed to the State Treasury in 1668. It was pawned lawlessly in 1700 by King

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

, and later appropriated by

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

(part of so-called ''Pawn of the

Rzeczpospolita () is a traditional Polish term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "rzeczpospolita", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage" "thing, matter" and "common" is analogous to the Latin ''rēs pūblica' ...

'') as a result of German claiming to the outlays sustained during the

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

(the popular name for the Swedish invasion of Poland during the reign of King John II Casimir). One of the gems from the crown became the property of

Jan Kazimierz Krasiński Jan Kazimierz Krasiński (1607–1669) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic) using the Ślepowron coat of arms. He was the fifth son of Stanisław Krasinski and Anna Michowska, brother of Gabriel and Ludwik. Jan Kazimierz was courtier on the r ...

, Grand Treasurer of the Crown. It was in the possession of the Krasiński family till the 19th century. Later it was given to Tsar

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

Wincenty Krasiński Count Wincenty Krasiński (5 April 1782 – 24 November 1858) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic), political activist and military leader. He was the father of Zygmunt Krasiński, one of Poland's Three Bards—Poland's greatest romantic poets ...

and found its place in the collections of the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin ArmouryOfficially called the "Armoury Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armoury Palace", the "Moscow Armoury", the "Armoury Museum", and the "Moscow Armoury Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. () is one of ...

in Moscow.

References

External links

{{Crowns 1610 works Individual crowns Polish crown jewels 1610 in Russia Frederick I of Prussia

History

References

Further reading

External links