The box, which was previously owned by Lithuanian Grand Duke and the King of Poland Sigismund I The Old, has been brought to Vilnius from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (Russia) with a special escort.
"Lithuania will have a unique opportunity to see the genuine work of art, which is one of the most valuable exhibits at the Jewellery Gallery of the State Hermitage, as well as one of the most impressive goldsmithing works in Europe. Manufactured in Nuremberg to order of Sigismund I The Old nearly 500 years ago, the box testifies to exclusive luxury of the Lithuanian and Polish royal palaces, sophisticated taste, financial capacities, close cultural and artistic relations and dynasty relations with European states and leaders," Vydas Dolinskas, director of the museum of the Gramd Dules Palace, said in a press release.
The box was made of 6.5kg of silver and nearly 700g of gold, decorated with more than 800 pearls, nearly 370 rubies, and 300 diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and other semiprecious stones. The exhibition opens this Thursday.
