This is very much not the post I wanted to be writing, but this is the point we’re at.
Several days ago, I was contacted by Snumple’s brother, Vladimir. Snumple – Xenia – had been missing for over 48 hours, and he was looking for any information on where she might be. I didn’t have any ideas, but through our conversation, he seemed to gain a larger picture of the sort of emotional state she’d been in lately.
Which, unfortunately, was not good. As you all know, she deleted her Tumblr a few weeks ago. It was an action that I found extremely worrying, particularly given Xenia’s increasing depression, but she was set on it. Still, after deleting it, her mood seemed to improve and I hoped things were getting better for her. Then emails sent to her began to bounce, saying the account had been deactivated.
The timing coincides with when she went missing. “Worrying” no longer seems sufficient.
Xenia’s been missing now since the morning of 16 May (it’s the 20th as of this writing), making it over four days since anyone last saw or heard from her. She left her phone and her passport at home. Her family and volunteers have been searching the city and surrounding woods, but have so far not found anything.
I know she was friends with many of you. If you have any ideas or information about where she may have gone, anything she might have mentioned or hinted at, please let me know so I can pass the information to her brother. And if by chance you’re in the area of St. Petersburg in Russia and might be willing to volunteer to help search, let me know that as well so I can find out where to direct you.
This situation is absolutely heartbreaking. I love Snumps very much. I hold out hope for the best, but even if the worst, she needs to be found so her family can know peace.
Traditional kokoshnik was made of birch bark (later of cardboard), trimmed with expensive cloth (brocade, satin), then lavishly decorated with pearls and precious stones. This technology is not quite suited for the XVIII century, and the kind of headdress is not very in harmony with the dresses of the time. And kokoshnik turned into a tiara-kokoshnik or as it was called in Europe, the tiara in the Russian style.
Left to right.
Great collier russe (Russian necklaces), presumably dating from the beginning of the XIX century. Indian and Brazilian diamonds, mounted in gold and silver. Necklace can also be worn as a tiare russe – tiara sewn on velvet kokoshnik. All outstanding beam suspension are numbered from 1 to 59 and have hooks on the back side.
Tiara, the form of Russian kokoshnik, created at the beginning of the XIX century. Tiara originally belonged to Empress Elizabeth A., wife of Alexander I. Tiara showered old Brazilian diamonds total weight of 275 carats of old, rimmed in gold and silver.
Wedding gift for the daughter of Alexander II – luxury diamond tiare russe (Russian tiara). This tiara inherited the daughter of Maria Alexandrovna, the Romanian queen Maria.
In 1825, the Russian Emperor Nicholas I gave the tiara with sapphires his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna in honor of their accession to the Russian throne.
Diamond kokoshnik ordered Cartier Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich a gift to his daughter Elena (1882-1957) on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Nicholas of Greece in 1902.
Kokoshnik with drop-shaped diamonds and pearls, made the court jeweler Bolin in 1841 and found in the chambers of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. In the diamond arches suspended 25 pearls.
Emerald diamond kokoshnik made to the court jeweler Bolin for Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Kokoshnik parure was a member of the emeralds that Elizabeth Feodorovna received as a gift for the wedding. Earlier this parure belonged to the mother of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Empress Marie Alexandrovna . Court jeweler Bolin made this kokoshnik-tiara of gold and silver with seven cabochon emeralds, framed by elegant diamond weave . These emeralds are inserted into another tiara-kokoshnik.
Tiara with sapphire cabochon, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
