Karelian Birch is a European birch variety from St. Petersburg. A finely figured wood, light in color and with a delicate grain, only 30% of seeds planted for this wood produce the distinctive and sought after grain, making it a coveted luxury. Sable This rich dark finish overlays the natural beauty of Karelian Birch and other woods. It gives the wood an added dimension of depth, patina and warmth. Lapis Lazuli Believed to be an Aphrodisiac by the Romans, Lapis Lazuli was used as a pigment for painting in the Renaissance. An expensive and rare semi precious stone Lapis Lazuli is often used in jewellery for its rich color and opalescent nature and was first applied to works of art and furniture by the Russians. Jade has been a prized material in the Orient for 5000 years and was considered an ' Imperial Gem' in China. Exquisitely carved it is used in jewellery and applied arts and has been considered in the past as more valuable than gold or silver. Malachite A semi- precious stone mined predominantly in the Urals, it has long been a distinguishing feature peculiar to Russian furniture. Its vivid color comes from the high copper content and it exhibits delicate ' ring' features reminiscent of the natural growth rings of trees. It was used lavishly in the Malachite Room of the Winter Palace. STONE AND FINISH OPTIONS Many pieces in the Hermitage Collection can be customized with one of a selection of semi- precious stone and finish options. Leathers are also uniquely designed and coloured to match your choice of stone. Each stone and finish has a code. To adjust an original item number for order in your choice of stone simply remove the current suffix and replace with the stone code you require. For example, HER50028M would become HER50028J for the Jade stone option. To change the finish option to Sable, add an S at the end of the code. This means that HER50028M with Jade stones and a Sable finish becomes HER50028MS. HER60004 would become HER60004S. If your chosen piece has a leather inset top, then the leather colour will be blue for the Lapis Lazuli stone option and green for the Malachite or Jade option. There is no need to indicate which leather you would like as the change will be linked to your stone choice. 23

HER61003L A Karelian Birch, Lapis Lazuli inset and fine stainless steel mounted display cabinet, the moulded cornice above a lozenge inset frieze, above two glazed panel doors and sides enclosing a mirror back with glass shelves and lights, with two lozenge panel drawers below, on square tapering legs. 48 x 18 x 88 1/ 4 in 122 x 46 x 224 cm 4* For stone and finish options, please refer to page 3*