Mink Stole of Princess Irina Yusupova

This mink stole is a rare example of aristocratic elegance preserved through time.
Crafted from the pelt of a small mammal-likely a mink - it retains the head, legs, and tail, with glass eyes and a sculpted snout that evoke the opulence and provocation of early 20th-century fashion.
Belonging to Irina Yusupova, Russian princess in exile and wife of the infamous Felix Yusupov, the stole was worn during her Parisian years, at private salons and discreet gatherings among the faded aristocracy and cultural elite. The fur, a warm and rich brown, remains soft and lustrous, a testament to the care with which it was preserved. Irina draped it over her shoulders, atop satin or velvet gowns, often paired with pearls and long gloves - a contrast between the austerity of exile and the luxury she never abandoned. 
In 1962, during one of her stays in Paris, Princess Cecilia of Prussia received the mink stole as a gift from Irina Yusupova. The gesture was not casual, but motivated by a dynastic connection between the two women: the House of Hohenzollern, to which Cecilia belonged, was related to the Romanovs through Emperor Wilhelm II, Cecilia's grandfather and cousin of Tsar Nicholas Il. This distant kinship had fostered occasional friendly relations between Cecilia and the Yusupovs, especially during the princess's visits to the French capital. 
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Independent Curator