A Russian portrait photograph of Madame Vonlarlarsky, by 'Boissonnas & Eggler of Petersbourg', dressed for one of the Saint Petersburg balls in an exotic costume, signed and inscribed 'En souvenir des charmantes...de Peterhof' 1903-1905, photo 17 x 12cm, 49 x 42cm framed overall The 1903 Costume Ball is regarded as the most memorable festive event Saint Petersburg ever witnessed during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Dedicated to the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, the celebration took place over two days: a soirée was held on 11 February 1903, and the Costume Ball itself on 13 February. The great masquerade had the Winter Palace as its venue and was attended by most of the nobility of the Russian Empire, robed in resplendent attire in the style of the pre-Petrine era, specially designed by artists A Golovin, I Vsevolozhsky and S Solomko, and tailored by the leading costumiers N Lamanova, I Kaffi, A Ivashchenko and Y Ivanova. The garments gloriously married sumptuousness with elegance; at the time, the ball had been described as not just 'a magnificent spectacle, but a perfect work of art'. Nicholas II, for example, was dressed in 'the ceremonial costume of Tsar Alexei', comprising a kaftan and cloth-of-gold robe, tsar’s cap and staff – now kept in the Kremlin Armoury – while Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna was attired in a costume befitting Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. All the ladies-in-waiting wore sarafans gowns and kokoshnik headdresses, while their male escorts were garbed in the uniforms of 17th-century streltsy soldiers or falconers.