Restoration works in the Nicholas and Alexandra rooms in the East Wing of the Alexander Palace are finished. Furnishings and interior decoration objects are now being moved in. The lighting fixtures are among the first items to take their places. Many of these graceful 18th–19th century chandeliers and lanterns by St Petersburg workshops have been preserved in the historical collection of our Museum for more than a century.

Among the lamps characteristic of Catherine II’s reign, noteworthy are the late 18th-century chandeliers with crystal headgear and coloured glass, which adorn the Retinue Room, Corner Drawing Room and Small Library Hall. Their main feature is a multitude of variously shaped faceted pendants connected in garlands, as well as crystal obelisks and a “fountain”-lie top reminiscent of a column of water.

Among the unique lighting fixtures is the chandelier from Nicholas II's Reception Room. The interior was designed by architect Robert (Roman) Melzer in 1895–96. Its walls and ceiling were finished with oak panels, the furniture was ordered from F. Melzer & Co. The electric chandelier, with twelve bulbs in the form of a hanging openwork rim on six chains with hemispherical shades decorated with a fringe of yellow beads, was removed in 1941 and returned after the war. It remained in its place until 1997 and then was restored by St. Petersburg's Yuzhakova Studio in 2015. The specialists cleaned the metal surface, replaced the lost beads and installed new electrical wiring.

The pride of our collection, three chandeliers for a hundred candles each have not yet returned to the State Halls of the Alexander Palace. Eight identical chandeliers were designed of architect Giacomo Quarenghi and commissioned from St Petersburg's bronzemaster Johann Zech in 1796. They were intended for the St George Hall of the Winter Palace. Zech finished only three chandeliers, which first adorned a hall in St Michael's Castle and were later moved to the Alexander Palace. An interesting fact is that the Quarenghi chandeliers were for 50 candles each, but in 1829 the number of horns was increased to one hundred for better lighting. These large two-tier chandeliers with ruby ​​glass balusters will take their historical place after the restoration of the State Halls in the central part of the palace.