Queen Mary purchased these three medallions as part of a framed group of six by James Tassie, the Scottish gem engraver and modeller, in 1947. The portraits of Paul I and Catherine II are after those made by Paul’s wife, Maria Feodorovna, a talented amateur artist whose subjects were generally members of the imperial family. Prints of her portrait of Catherine as the goddess of wisdom, Minerva, were widely disseminated in Britain.

Purchased by Queen Mary, 1947.