| From 1871 to 1872 the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich - the fourth son of Tsar Alexander II - visited the US, Canada, Japan and the Far East. This traditional, handcrafted niello and silver tea and coffee service featuring the Kremlin on the banks of Moscow River was a gift presented to the wife of the future Hong Kong Governor Sir Arthur Kennedy during the trip, and the service was also used by Queen Victoria. The former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev was later given the set as gift during a visit to Italy. The set became part of the Kremlin Museum collection in 1990. |
