Mary, Princess Eristavi
Encyclopedia
Mary, Princess Eristavi was a prominent Georgian
aristocrat
, fashion icon, and one of the earliest models of Coco Chanel
. She held a respectable position in the Georgian high society, as well as the Russian Imperial court for the last few decades of its existence. Mary is sometimes believed to be the hopeless infatuation of a famous Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze
.
to a family of a prominent Georgian
General Major Prokof Shervashidze. She was popular in Georgia for her beauty and gentle complexion and even drew compliments from Emperor Nicholas II of Russia
when he met her during his 1912 visit to Tiflis
.
Because Mary's father became a member of the Imperial Duma, the family soon had to move to Saint Petersburg
where Mary became a lady in waiting
to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. After her father's death, Mary moved back to her native Georgia and spent the rest of her youth in the west of the country with her mother and twin sisters, Ellen
and Tamar
.
following the Russian Revolution, Mary's fiancé Prince George Eristavi - an important Georgian nobleman and a former aide-de-camp
of Nicholas II
- returned to Georgia with an intent to marry her. They wed soon after his arrival and likely because of security reasons, settled permanently in the country which at that time was a stable Menshevik
stronghold under German protection.
The peace in Georgia did not last long and several years into their marriage, the couple was forced to flee the country during the 1921 Red Army Invasion
. To escape imminent imprisonment, deportation, or death, Mary, along with other prominent Georgian noblemen and government officials, departed for France
on a ship from her childhood city of Batumi
. She was reunited with her husband in Constantinople
where Prince George had been waiting for her after being forced to leave Georgia early on during the start of hostilities;the couple continued the voyage to France
together.
, Mary and George settled on Rue de la Tour in the 16th arrondissement, a district popular with the French high society. Because of the losses incurred as a result of fleeing Georgia, Mary's family met some financial problems while living in this expensive neighborhood. For this reason, Mary's mother and sisters, Ellen and Tamar, initially lived with the young couple. This situation changed when the family managed to open its own clothing atelier and further improved as Mary found a modeling position with Coco Chanel
, an increasingly popular French designer at the time.
Soon after this success, Mary's family moved out and her husband, George, passed away before the couple had any children. Mary spent the rest of her life living alone on the Rue de la Tour and rarely made contact with other Georgian émigrés, with the exception of her visits to a local Georgian church. In the final years of her life she was forced to move to a nursing home where, thanks to her improved financial circumstances, she was provided with a personal maid. Despite the relocation, she continued to visit her friends in the 16th arrondissment to play cards. According to her friend Babo Dadiani
, Mary's room was filled with flowers from known and unknown admirers.
Because of Soviet Union
's closed-door immigration policy, Mary, just like other émigrés from the First Republic, was never able to revisit her native Georgia, passing away in France
at the age of 98.
is sometimes thought to have been in love with Mary. The word of Tabidze's alleged romantic feelings for the princess spread throughout Georgia
after the publication of his poem titled "Mary," in which the poet bitterly described the wedding ceremony of a certain Mary, without specifying whether he was referring to Princess Eristavi. Princess Mary herself disagreed with the rumors, stressing that the poem was first published in 1915 in a Georgian journal Theater and Life, while her wedding to Prince George Eristavi did not occur until 1918. Some sources confirm this, alleging that it was only in 1935 when Galaktion met Mary by accident as she sat in front of Louvre
.
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, fashion icon, and one of the earliest models of Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
. She held a respectable position in the Georgian high society, as well as the Russian Imperial court for the last few decades of its existence. Mary is sometimes believed to be the hopeless infatuation of a famous Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze
Galaktion Tabidze
Galaktion Tabidze was a leading Georgian poet of the twentieth century whose writings profoundly influenced all subsequent generations of Georgian poets. He survived Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s, which claimed lives of many of his fellow writers, friends and relatives, but came under heavy...
.
Family and early life
Mary was born in BatumiBatumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
to a family of a prominent Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
General Major Prokof Shervashidze. She was popular in Georgia for her beauty and gentle complexion and even drew compliments from Emperor Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
when he met her during his 1912 visit to Tiflis
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
.
Because Mary's father became a member of the Imperial Duma, the family soon had to move to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
where Mary became a lady in waiting
Lady in Waiting
Lady in Waiting is the 2nd album by American southern rock band Outlaws, released in 1976. -Track listing:#"Breaker-Breaker" – 2:59#"South Carolina" – 3:05#"Ain't So Bad" – 3:48...
to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. After her father's death, Mary moved back to her native Georgia and spent the rest of her youth in the west of the country with her mother and twin sisters, Ellen
Ellen (given name)
Ellen is a female given name. Ellen can be traced back to Ancient Greece, where it translates as "sun-ray, lightness." Ellen is the 555th most popular name in the U.S...
and Tamar
Tamar (name)
Tamar is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "date" , "date palm" or just "palm tree". There are two characters in the Bible with this name, see Tamar . Variants include "Tamara" and "Tamera"...
.
Marriage and Bolshevik invasion of Georgia
After the establishment of the First Georgian RepublicDemocratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
following the Russian Revolution, Mary's fiancé Prince George Eristavi - an important Georgian nobleman and a former aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
of Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
- returned to Georgia with an intent to marry her. They wed soon after his arrival and likely because of security reasons, settled permanently in the country which at that time was a stable Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
stronghold under German protection.
The peace in Georgia did not last long and several years into their marriage, the couple was forced to flee the country during the 1921 Red Army Invasion
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
. To escape imminent imprisonment, deportation, or death, Mary, along with other prominent Georgian noblemen and government officials, departed for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on a ship from her childhood city of Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
. She was reunited with her husband in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
where Prince George had been waiting for her after being forced to leave Georgia early on during the start of hostilities;the couple continued the voyage to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
together.
France and final years
After arriving in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Mary and George settled on Rue de la Tour in the 16th arrondissement, a district popular with the French high society. Because of the losses incurred as a result of fleeing Georgia, Mary's family met some financial problems while living in this expensive neighborhood. For this reason, Mary's mother and sisters, Ellen and Tamar, initially lived with the young couple. This situation changed when the family managed to open its own clothing atelier and further improved as Mary found a modeling position with Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, an increasingly popular French designer at the time.
Soon after this success, Mary's family moved out and her husband, George, passed away before the couple had any children. Mary spent the rest of her life living alone on the Rue de la Tour and rarely made contact with other Georgian émigrés, with the exception of her visits to a local Georgian church. In the final years of her life she was forced to move to a nursing home where, thanks to her improved financial circumstances, she was provided with a personal maid. Despite the relocation, she continued to visit her friends in the 16th arrondissment to play cards. According to her friend Babo Dadiani
Dadiani
Dadiani was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Samegrelo.- The House of Dadiani :...
, Mary's room was filled with flowers from known and unknown admirers.
Because of Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's closed-door immigration policy, Mary, just like other émigrés from the First Republic, was never able to revisit her native Georgia, passing away in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the age of 98.
Mary and Galaktion
A famous Georgian poet Galaktion TabidzeGalaktion Tabidze
Galaktion Tabidze was a leading Georgian poet of the twentieth century whose writings profoundly influenced all subsequent generations of Georgian poets. He survived Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s, which claimed lives of many of his fellow writers, friends and relatives, but came under heavy...
is sometimes thought to have been in love with Mary. The word of Tabidze's alleged romantic feelings for the princess spread throughout Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
after the publication of his poem titled "Mary," in which the poet bitterly described the wedding ceremony of a certain Mary, without specifying whether he was referring to Princess Eristavi. Princess Mary herself disagreed with the rumors, stressing that the poem was first published in 1915 in a Georgian journal Theater and Life, while her wedding to Prince George Eristavi did not occur until 1918. Some sources confirm this, alleging that it was only in 1935 when Galaktion met Mary by accident as she sat in front of Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
.